Title Page Design: Designs for Cabinet and Upholstery Furniture

Art Historical Context

This title page design by Robert William Hume offers a glimpse into the world of 19th-century furniture design. Created between 1830 and 1900 in pen and ink with watercolor, the drawing served as the opening page for a collection of cabinet and upholstery patterns. Such designs were essential tools for craftsmen and manufacturers during the Victorian era, when rising middle-class demand fueled a vibrant market for ornate home furnishings. Hume’s work belongs to the tradition of ornamental and architectural drawings, where precise linework combined with delicate washes of color helped convey both structure and decorative flair. The inclusion of cartouches—elaborate scrollwork frames—highlights the period’s taste for elaborate, classical-inspired motifs that added elegance to functional objects. These visual elements not only framed titles but also showcased the designer’s skill in blending utility with beauty. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this piece reflects the collaborative spirit of design publishing. Bequeathed by Jessie F. Hume in 1930, it preserves a record of how artists like Hume shaped everyday aesthetics through thoughtful, detailed studies.

About the Artist

Robert William Hume · 1816–1904

Robert William Hume (1816–1904) was a British artist and craftsman who contributed to the documentation of decorative arts and design in nineteenth-century Britain. Working during the Victorian era, Hume was part of a generation of artists and designers who combined artistic skill with antiquarian interests, producing detailed studies and records of historical objects, ornamental patterns, and arc...