13 Comments
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Kari Koty's avatar

I’ve never learned about William Morris having arsenic in his wallpaper designs! His speaking on workers rights but not reflecting it within his own business is a real reflection of issues we still face today.

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stephanie's avatar

So crazy. I felt the same way — history always repeats itself!

Thank you for reading!

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Meg Gilliland's avatar

I knew I was in for a good time when I saw Victorian wallpaper and a Wilde quote.

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Rosa's avatar
Apr 7Edited

Such an engaging read. I was aware of arsenic poisoning being an issue during that time but I had no idea about Morris being complicit. Fascinating! Thank you for your research

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stephanie's avatar

It was a shock to me too! Thank you for your kind words. The research really was fascinating!

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Erin Mc's avatar

This is such an excellent piece. I've had it in my saved list for quite a while, and I'm glad I made it back to it. Thank you for your lovely writing and thoughtful research!

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stephanie's avatar

Thank you so much for your kind words, and thanks for reading!

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Taro Zaine's avatar

Wow! I was unaware of the Morris arsenic connection. Another fascinating read!

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stephanie's avatar

Thank you so much!

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Swabreen Bakr's avatar

Absolutely fascinating! Thank you for this piece. I love William Morris prints, wild to think that at a time they were truly deadly beauty.

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stephanie's avatar

thank you for reading! I am also a huge fan of William Morris’ prints - I was shocked to learn about their darker side

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jessica davidson's avatar

Love this, thanks for sharing! I have such a morbid curiosity about this kind of thing, it really is a wonder anyone made it out of the Victorian era. Shame about the arsenic though, it's such a lovely green

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stephanie's avatar

thanks for reading! totally fascinating stuff - and totally a shame about the green, really would have gone great in my house

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