ABSTRACT
American interior decorator and author of Art and Economy in Home Decoration and Artistic Homes, Mabel Tuke Priestman was also published in numerous articles in many magazines and journals. Importantly, she was not just directing her work to hobbyists. She introduced the work by saying: ‘This book is not intended to take the place or lessen the need of a thorough training in design and craftsmanship, such as is obtainable at the Art Schools, but it is hoped that it may gain recruits from those who know not the joy of fashioning with their hands objects of usefulness which are also things of beauty’. Although her aims sounded laudable, not all were sympathetic to her approach. Batik-making is one of the oldest arts in the world, having been done by the native Javanese women and children for many generations.
