European Textiles
Collection Index
Spitalfields Silk
Joseph Dandridge
(1664 - 1746)
- Brown satin ground brocaded with silver & gold threads patterned with
flowers & butterflies
Circa 1705 - 1710
127 x 27 cms
Joseph Dandridge, a well respected English naturalist, entomologist and silk
designer, worked occasionally for James Leman. In typically British style
he was interested in nature and natural history as a hobby, however studied
it very seriously and in the end made an important contribution to the world
of science. He amassed an important collection of natural objects and aided
many other English naturalists. Dandridge also drew and painted butterflies
and other natural history subjects.
Born in Winslow, Buckinghamshire in 1664 Dandridge was the son of a barber-surgeon.
He started his career sketching for a merchant tailor in London in 1679 and
later became a pattern designer for the silk industry at Spitalfields. He
joined the Merchant Taylor's' Company in 1692, and toward the end of his life,
in 1740, was elected its Master. He was probably the founder of the Society
of Aurelians and highly respected by his peers.
A number of Dandridge's silk designs dating from between 1717 & 1722 are
in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Bibliography: Rothstein, Natalie. Joseph Dandridge : Naturalist and Silk
Designer. East London Papers (1966)
Rothstein, Natalie. Silk Designs of the Eighteenth century from the Collections
of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Thames & Hudson ISBN 0500 235899
(1990)
British Textiles, 1700 to the Present. V&A Publishing, 2010