Cushion Japanese Magnolia
GP & J Baker
GP & J Baker is a British company, founded in 1884 by brothers George Percival and James Baker. Together with their father, they traveled around Asia purchasing designs, textiles, sketches and pattern books which today are preserved in the company’s archive.
The result of more than a century’s worth of collecting, GP & J Baker holds one of the greatest private collections of textiles in the world. The collection includes many motifs based on English chintz and block prints from the 19th century. These historical patterns have been adapted to new printing techniques with colourways continuously evolving to suit the evolution of decorating styles. In 1982, GP & J Baker was granted the Royal Warrant by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as suppliers of fabrics and wall coverings to the Royal Household. To this day, Baker continues to grow their reputation as one of the world’s main innovators in fabric design.
Svenskt Tenn became one of Baker’s first customers in Sweden when Josef Frank, inspired by Baker’s designs, introduced the company to Estrid Ericson in the 1930s. For her, it was important that Svenskt Tenn provided products with exclusivity for their customers, so at the end of the 1930s she earned the exclusive rights to sell a selection of GP & J Baker patterns at Svenskt Tenn.
The Canton print by GP & J Baker.
Estrid Ericson on her sofa in the Eldon fabric.
Toucans was designed by William Turner in 1922 and is one of five hand-block patterns that he produced for GP & J Baker that year.
