Pat Albeck's Tea Towels

Pat Albeck, who died in September 2017, was a prolific and well-known textile and homewear designer, affectionately known as 'the Queen of the Tea Towel'. Her obituary appeared in The Times and the Guardian, and she was the guest on Desert Island Discs a few years ago. Pat started work in the 1950s and continued working throughout her life, including for John Lewis, The National Trust and Emma Bridgewater (her son Michael is married to Emma Bridgewater). She's most famous as being 'Queen of the Tea Towel', particularly with the National Trust, and worked with them to produce tea towels from the 1970s to the present day.The book will show 100 of Pat's tea towel designs, and her son Matthew Rice (also an illustrator and designer) gives a fascinating insight into the design process for each towel. The tea towels include National Trust houses and gardens and her iconic calendar designs, as well as showcasing her unique, retro and quintessentially British textile design and illustration style.