These four printed and painted silk mats feature images from "The Baby's Opera," a book of rhymes illustrated by Walter Crane (1845-1915). Although he painted, and designed interiors, decorative arts, and textiles, Crane was perhaps best known for his illustrations of children's books. Together with Edmund Evans, Crane published a series of "toy books," with rhymes and illustrations, such as "The Baby's Opera" and "The Baby's Aesop," intended to be sold inexpensively. Some designs for these books were later adapted for tiles and other household arts, including this set of silk painted mats, originally bordered with narrow lace and probably intended for serving tea. As Director of Design at the Manchester Municipal School of Art, and the author of several books on the subject, Crane was very influential in art circles and was associated with the Pre-Raphaelites, Aestheticism, the Arts and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau. Like his friend, William Morris, Crane was a Socialist who believed that good design should be extended into the average home and to even the humblest of objects. Therefore, he adapted his designs for use on decorative arts such as tiles, doilies, tablecloths, and tea cozies. The illustrations taken from the Baby's Opera for these silk roundels were modified only by changing the format from the square page to the round mat. Despite their household use, the designs show Walter Crane's wonderful draftsmanship and his skill in the use of art-historical references, such as the classical temple and dress in his illustration for the rhyme "There was a lady Loved a Swine."