THE blocking table stands deserted – an antique now. In this world of automated production lines, it’s hard to believe that it was once a radical piece of machinery, its invention impacting on the interior decorating tastes of the privileged.

It was with tables like these that the workers of Birkenhead-based fabric manufacturer AH Lee & Sons would painstakingly print its colourful tapestries, using blocks to dye the weave.

This new method meant the colours did not have to be woven into the loom, enabling the use of a brighter palette.

The archives of AH Lee & Sons, which ran a tapestry works in Stanley Road from 1908 to 1970, form the basis of an extensive exhibition in the Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead.

Spread over three galleries, its strength is in the rich variety of items that, when grouped together, follow the story of the designs from their inception to the finished product.

So, alongside a completed piece of fabric is the Victorian pattern that inspired it, as well as the design from which it was made – attractive art works in themselves.

There are also photographs of where some of Lee’s designs ended up – as upholstery for the chairs in the Elizabethan Grill Room of the Cunard’s “Ship Beautiful” Aquitania and in the back drawing room of Blair House, the US presidential guesthouse, decorated by Jacqueline Kennedy.

Just as interesting is the complicated story of the Lee family, whose members included a spy and a New York interior decorator turned Italian countess. This is told on large white boards throughout the exhibition.

While Lee’s US branch continues to trade as the textiles giant Lee-Jofa, owner of Mulberry and Cole & Son, its legacy lives on in Birkenhead. But it’s a large legacy to get your head round in one visit, so I’d recommend planning for two.

A TEXTILE Dynasty: Arthur H Lee & Sons, Birkenhead, at the Williamson Art Gallery until March 29.