'Tom Tit' wallpaper

John Henry Dearle designed this wallpaper for Morris & Co. in the late nineteenth century. The design combines roses and small birds on a spotted background. 'Tom Tit' is a shortened version of 'Tom titmouse', which is an old English folk name for the common garden bird the blue tit.

The wallpaper was machine roller-printed by Morris & Co., rather than block printed like most of their wallpapers. The Morris & Co. assigned pattern colourway number was 340, coming before 'Oak Tree' (designed c.1896) and after 'Thistle' (designed 1897), therefore it seems likely Dearle designed 'Tom Tit' around the same time, c.1896-97. This example was formerly in the possession of the architect William Edward Brooks (1879-1945).