Christopher Dresser understood that mass production called for new approaches to design. He was the first Western designer who actually visited Japan, studying and photographing Japanese arts and crafts. Dresser also collected instructive artifacts for Londos, a London firm, and Tiffany & Company, New York. Once back in England, his own work revealed the impact of his travels. Among Dresser’s radically stripped down designs was this stark candle stick. The ebony handle, based on a Japanese example he sent home, became a staple in his design vocabulary. Dresser recorded his travels in Japan, Its Architecture, Art and Art Manufactures (1882).