This is a designer's wet dream — I was introduced to this book at Katie Ryan's house out here in LA. It's called The World of Ornament, and it's not to be missed by any graphic artist or designer. It's a combination of two seminal works, one by Racinet and the other by Dupont-Auberville in the 1800's, and it's republished by Taschen in this century. It is a big, big book that includes hundreds of samples of ornamental patterns from all over the world from antiquity forward with their history and explanation. It's an amazing archive and reference tool...
"World of Ornament brings together the two greatest encyclopedic collections of ornament from the 19th century chromo-lithographic tradition.... Adapted from historical items dating back to antiquity, such as jewelry, tiles, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, textiles, and ceramics, these ornamental designs encompass a wide range of cultural aesthetics including classic Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Etruscan motifs, Asian and middle-Eastern patterns, as well as European designs from medieval times through the 19th century."
And the kicker is that it comes with a CD in the back: EVERY pattern in the book is in digital and free for copying or using in any way. The patterns are a century beyond any rights management. It does cost $200, and I hear some folks sell pages at flea markets, but I would get my hands on the whole thing or copy the CD at least.
>> World of Ornament
Here's a peek:
Wow, this is too much!
view fabframes's profile
Why not link directly to the Taschen website??? :
http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/classics/all/03809/facts.the_world_of_ornament.htm
It has a lot to look at, including other interesting titles. It is cheaper at Amazon. I would be curious to know the exact wording on what they mean by "unrestricted use" of the DVD. I don't suppose if the patterns aren't copyrighted that they can hold rights to the DVD? I mean, use of the patterns is one thing, but you're allowed to pirate copies of the DVD also? I'm not sure how that works, being they are trying to sell more than one of a product here, and not just one book for everyone to share.
view K T G's profile
they mean the images on the disc. free license images. you can use them in design work without worrying about copyrights.
around 75% of my art books are taschen.
view antimatt's profile
So making a personal copy of the DVD is against the rules?
view K T G's profile
Someone picked this up for me from my Amazon wishlist for Christmas. I hadn't seen it in person and had no idea how big it was. Seriously. It's huge. And amazing, of course, but you'd better have a place for it. It's practically a piece of furniture. It's almost overwhelming in its number of images, but it's a great reference.
view Michela's profile
Taschen also has a warehouse sale. I think I will wait for that :)
view bigcityboy2's profile
oh, I want...
view foodefafa's profile
KTG : I think so, because the images are free to use and copy but not the DVD interface itself, and probably not for commercial purposes anyhow...
view Daniel Poitiers's profile
I want this. A lot.
view heather77's profile
Ah, the glories of the public library system. I just put a hold on this and will pick it up tomorrow. I want to check it out in person before I cough up $150 to get it on Amazon.
view heather77's profile
This book is an edited reprint of two books, spliced together. One is about ornament, the other about fabric. There's almost no text, so you never quite know what you're looking at. It does have spectacular plates.
The Dover Publishing Co. puts out a better line of books, at much lower cost, for people who are serious about learning classical ornament.
In general, I think that digital storage is a big advance over books on paper.
view ebanfield's profile
In the spirit of holding to high standards of good style, I suggest that the editors rethink the pairing of the words "wet" and "dream" outside of the pages of Forum and its brethren. I know y'all can do better. Let's chalk this up to momentary street-slang fatigue and move onward and upward.
view rapunzel's profile