Magyar News, 2006. január-május (17. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)

2006-05-01 / 5. szám

Shakespearian Fabric Designs by Tibor Reich

Marian J. Pringle,

Special Collections Librarian writes about a Hungarian

When the Shakespeare Centre opened in 1964, attention was drawn to the art features in glass, stone, timber and metal, about which articles have already appeared in Shakespeare at the centre. Textiles throughout the building were also specially commissioned and their designer and creator was the internationally known fabric artist, Tibor Reich.

Tibor Reich was bom in Budapest in 1916 and, after studying textile design in Vienna, he came to study for five years in the Textile Department of Leeds University, before working on rayon cloth for Tootal Broadhurst Lee in Lancashire. In 1946, soon after he had patented a device for controlled pattem weaving, he settled at Clifford Chambers near Stratford-upon-Avon, setting up his weaving looms at Clifford Mill. He worked on a wide range of cloths, experimenting with color and yam combinations, and fabrics were created for many special commissions including the Commonwealth Woolgrowers' wedding gift to Elizabeth II in 1947. When the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was altered and refurbished in 1951 Tibor Reich created fabrics for seating, curtains and hangings in the front-ofhouse areas. These strongly textured materials included 'Macbeth' (a heavy bouclé with gold thread in brilliant scarlet on dusty grey, in the bar), 'Cymbeline' (dull scarlet with square spots of gold thread), Page 4

and 'Cardinal' in burgundy for auditorium seats, and in forest green for the dress circle bar couches.

Clifford Mill employed over 40 weavers on both hand and powered looms and 'Tibor' cloth was sold at major department stores across the world and featured in public buildings nationally and in London, including both 10 and 11 Downing Street. A major wall-hanging entitled the 'History of Shapes' was woven for ICI, and screenprinted with a series of sketches depicting incidents in British history from ancient times.

In 1963 the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust chose Tibor Reich to create carpets and curtains for the new Shakespeare Centre. His skill as a photographer had inspired many of his textured cloths with: for example, images of tree bark, stones or straw, translated through the 'Fotexur' system. In the Centre Library's catalogue room and reading room, the offices and the Conference Room the carpets were inspired by an aerial photograph of woodland, with its harmony of greens, grey and black. This carpet, made by William Goodacre of Kendal in Cumbria, can still be admired today.

For curtains a light weight greenish grey 'taslan slub' named 'Cleopatra', with a texture of bark or papyrus fibers, was chosen. This fabric survives today in rooms such as the Stratford Room and the Shakespeare Centre Library reading room.

Tibor's other commissions for the Shakespeare quatercentenary year included 'The Age of Kings': a pattern of marching medieval armies, on a brightly colored

mercerized cotton satin in several colorways. The blue and green version was chosen for the stage curtains of the Stratford Room, and the design was also sold in a bold orange and red fabric for the 1964 exhibition and the souvenir market. Another new fabric in 1964 was the lively 'Agincourt' created from a drawing by 15- year-old Anthony Reich. Its style of tight and clear colors was used again for the fabric named 'A Tournament' in 1967, and for the 'Garrick' designs for the 1969 200th anniversary of the Stratford Jubilee.

Tibor Reich was also interested in tapestry