150 Years of
Liberty London
Introduction
Arthur Lasenby Liberty opened his emporium in 1875, importing far Eastern silks & goods to the London elite on Regent’s Street. His flagship store was created soon after, made from two Victorian warships, the HMS Hindustan and HMS Impregnable. The iconic department store was built in mock Tudor style, with a 4ft, 112lb gilded galleon weathervane as a nod to the historic building materials.
Ever since, Liberty has been a champion of art and culture, and is synonymous with the Modern Style.
Victorian Jewellery
The Victorian era saw many different types of jewellery design.
In the 1870s, Victorian jewellery was heavily influenced by Queen Victoria in mourning.
Bold, black jewellery with memorial elements was in vogue.
The Arts & Crafts Movement
The Arts & Crafts movement was born as a reaction to mass produced, poor quality goods on the Victorian market.
The movement focused on traditional, handmade craftsmanship. William Morris waso ne of the founding members of the Arts& Crafts movement and sold his designs at Liberty London.
Jewellery of this era was handmade, usually featuring semi-precious stones set in silver, taking inspiration from Cymric motifs.
The Art Nouveau
The Art Nouveau movement was rising in popularity in the late 19th Century, and Liberty became famous as a destination to buy items in the fashionable Art Nouveau style.
Liberty was so synonymous with this new fashion that the Italian Art Nouveau movement was known as ‘Stile Liberty’, Liberty style.
Art Nouveau jewellery is known for its sinuous lines and naturalistic shapes. Pieces from this era are highly sought after.
Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts share motifs, both drawing inspiration from nature.
Liberty & Co.
Liberty soon started producing its own goods, including furniture, fabrics, pottery, and jewellery.
Some of the most famous jewellery designers were employed by Liberty, including Archibald Knox, Arthur Gaskin, Alan Jones, & Jessie M King.
Liberty jewellery is identified by the famous Liberty & Co hallmark, which is recognised the world over.
Murrle Bennett & Co.
Murrle, Bennett and Company was a wholesale jewellers established in London in 1884 by Ernst Mürrle and Mr. Bennett. The firm produced jewellery in the German Art Nouveau style, also known as Jugendstil in Germany, meaning ‘youthful style’.
The company sold much of their jewellery at Liberty London. Their designs are often characterised by Celtic inspired interlacing elements, pierced geometric shapes, luminous enamels and enamels and semi-precious stones.
The Suffragette Movement
The fight for women’s suffrage during the late 19th Century was gaining popularity. Supporters of the movement started identifying one another by wearing the colours green, white, and violet.
The first letter of these colours G W V stood for
Give Women Votes
and they represented charity, purity, & hope.
These colours appeared in clothing, on sashes, but they are most well preserved in jewellery. Liberty was one of the pioneers of creating these fine works of art. Sometimes, violet would be exchanged for vermillion, bright pink, as in this brooch.
The Edwardian & Art Deco Era
As time went on and technology progressed so did jewellery design. The delicate and highly detailed jewellery of the Edwardian era moved into the sharp, geometric into the sharp, geometric lines of Art Deco.
Beyond Arts & Crafts
Liberty has had a lasting impact on the design world, through the swinging 60s to today. Liberty was famous for fine opal jewellery, a trend we still see today.
Liberty’s has a lasting legacy of design, even after 150 years.