Designs for domestic furniture and woodwork by Ernest Gimson and Sidney Barnsley: A catalogue of drawings in the collection at Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum.

The thesis comprises a descriptive catalogue of the working drawings for domestic furniture by Ernest W. Gimson and Sidney H. Barnsley, together with a text which examines the drawings, the nature and evolution of the Gimson/Barnsley style, and the historical context of their work. Nature and scope of the research The principal task has been to make the drawings as intelligible as possible. Each has therefore been provided with a description under several headings. Selected drawings have been described at length and most of these illustrated. No attempt has been made to match every drawing with an executed piece, though a number of pieces have been referred to when documentation was available. Treatment of designs in both catalogue and text is analytical as well as descriptive. Contributions to knowledge of the subject The drawings have been arranged in date order within the accepted categories. Wherever possible dates have been suggested for the many undated drawings. An attempt has been made to indicate all relationships between drawings. As far as possible all obscurities in the drawings have been clarified and ambiguities discussed and resolved. Significant aspects of technique have also been noted and discussed. Among the documentary material examined and collated are: Ernest Gimson's Job Book; the sketch-books and notebooks of Gimson and Sidney Barnsley; correspondence (all the foregoing unpublished); periodical literature in architecture and the decorative arts between 1885 and 1930; books; collections of photographs. The descriptions of selected designs, and the measurements given for all designs, will facilitate the identification of pieces of furniture for the purpose of compiling a comprehensive catalogue of the drawings and furniture of both men. Summary of main findings. Ernest Gimson and Sidney Barnsley were major figures in the English Arts and Crafts movement. The present catalogue and account of their work as furniture designers helps to confirm this estimate of them. It also shows them to have been more versatile, original, and eclectic than has been supposed.