Textile printing be introduced into England in 1676 by a French refugee who open works, in so as to year, on the banks of the Thames near Richmond. Curiously sufficient this is the first print-works on record;
On the continent of Europe the profitable importance of calico printing seem to have be approximately immediately recognized, and in consequence it spread and urbanized there much additional rapidly than in England, where it was neglected plus practically at a standstill for almost ninety years after its introduction.
During the previous two decades of the 17th century plus the earlier ones of the 18th original works were started in France, Germany, Switzerland plus Austria; but it was merely in 1738 that calico printing be first, practiced in Scotland, plus not until twenty-six years afterward so as to Messrs Clayton of Bamber Bridge, near Preston, established in 1764 the initial print-works in Lancashire, and therefore lay the foundation of what has since become solitary of the bulk important industries of the region plus indeed of the country. At the there time calico printing is carried on at length in every quarter of the globe, plus it is pretty safe to say so as to there is scarcely a civilized state in either hemisphere where a print-works do not exist.
From a creative point of sight most of the pioneer work in calico printing be done by the French; and so fast was their advance in this branch of the commerce that they soon came to be acknowledged as its leading exponents.
Their styles of design and schemes of color were closely followed-even deliberately derivative by all additional European printers; arid, as of the early days of the industry down to the latter semi of the 10th century, the productions of the French printers in Joey, Beavers, Rouen, Alsace-Lorraine, &c., were looked upon as representing every one that was best in artistic calico printing. This reputation was recognized by the superiority of their earlier labor, which, whatever also it may have lacked, possessed in a high degree the two main qualities essential to all good decorative work, viz., and appropriateness of prototype and Excellency of workmanship. If, occasionally, the earlier designers permitted themselves to spoil in somewhat bizarre fancies, they at smallest amount carefully refrained as of any attempt to produce persons pseudo-realistic belongings the undue straining after which in later times in the end led to the degradation of not merely French calico printing design, other than of that of every one other European nations who followed their lead.
The practice of the older craftsmen, at their most excellent, was to treat their ornament in a method at once broad, easy and direct, thoroughly artistic and perfectly adapted to the income by which it have to be reproduced. The consequence was that their designs were characterized, on the one give, by those qualities of breadth, flatness of field, simplicity of treatment arid pureness of shade so rightly prized by the artist; plus, on the additional, by their entire freedom from persons meretricious effects of naturalistic projection plus recession so dear to the modern brain and so utterly opposed to the principles of applied art.