unknown - Design for a Waistcoat - before 1906 - T-Shirt

This design is a tall, finished pattern study of a blue morning glory set against a cluster of pale blossoms, framed by a vertical border of leaves.

Visual Elements & Composition

A narrow vertical border runs along the left edge in alternating pairs of ochre and cornflower-blue leaves, with a dark blue rule along its outer side. The main ornament sits to the right. A large blue trumpet flower with a pale yellow throat rises from a pair of rounded green leaves on a curling stem, and it dominates the group. Above it, a bent, serrated green and brown leaf sweeps upward, carrying a cluster of small white and cream flowers with brown centres. Fine sprigs, tendrils and a pale pink and blue bud at the lower right complete the arrangement. Against the pale grey ground, the composition moves between bold colour and soft, open blossom.

Meaning & Symbolism

The morning glory has long been a favourite of decorative designers for its clean silhouette and twining growth, and here its bright bloom acts as the focal point while the naturalistic cluster above balances it. The vertical border reads as a frame, a convention of dress ornament meant to define an edge. The drawing, made with black crayon and gouache on paper, shows a designer preparing a model that a craftsperson would transfer to cloth. Its date, before 1906, places it among the floral templates that circulated among makers of fashionable dress in the early twentieth century. The original is held in the Cooper Hewitt collection of the Smithsonian Design Museum.

Crafted for the Front of a Tee

Because this design was built to run along the edge of a garment, its tall, narrow format suits a single vertical panel on a tee. The border can run down one side of the chest, while the morning glory and its blossoms rest on the open ground beside it. Worn, the print stays legible from across a room and rewards a closer look at the tendrils and the small brown-centred flowers.