ABSTRACT
An expert on textile manufacturing, Roberts Beaumont was appointed Instructor in the Department of Textiles, Leeds University in 1875, and later became Professor and Head of Department from 1889 until his retirement in 1913. Roberts Beaumont was also engaged in inventing new techniques for textiles production, as well as publishing several works on the industry and its processes. It is interesting to note that most of his illustrations used to demonstrate his ideas on colour harmony were drawn, like many other contemporary authors on colour, from Turkish carpets and Indian shawl examples. He also promoted the study of contemporary design in the university, through a teaching collection of photographic plates, and a departmental museum. Beaumont is clearly more at home discussing the technical aspects of textile design around issues of forms and their combinations, construction, or weave and the use of color in textiles.
