A Manual of Historic Ornament (Treating Upon the Evolution, Tradition, and Development of Architecture and the Applied Arts)

About the Book This volume has been prepared with the three-fold objective of giving an elementary knowledge of Architecture and Historic Ornament, of awakening a responsive and sympathetic feeling for the many beautiful and interesting remains of ancient and medieval civilization, and lastly, of directing the attention of students and craftsmen to the beauty, suggestiveness, and vitality of the Industrial arts of the past, and their intimate relation to the social and religious life of the people.

The advantages to be derived by students and craftsmen from such a study are manifold, for, by a careful study of these arts we may see the capabilities and limitations of material, the appropriateness and application of ornament, the continuity of line and form - yet with a marked diversity of enrichment and treatment - the interest and significance of details, and the customs, myths, and traditions of the past, with their continuity of thought and expression.

The illustrations, which have been chosen expressly for this work, are typical examples of each period or style and are produced in line as being the method best suited to the requirements of students, giving definition, emphasis, and constructive qualities of design rather than pictorial effect.

Preface HE extreme range of subjects included under Historic Ornament necessarily implies considerable restriction and condensation in text and illustration in one small volume, yet care has been taken in the selection of types to show the essentials and characteristics of national styles, and the evolution or development of design in various materials. The re-issue of this work has enabled the author to revise generally and also to add additional matter and illustrations in the more important sections.

The subject of Architecture has received considerable amplification, as additional illustrations are given of the Greek, Romanesque, and Gothic styles, together with the Italian, French, and English Renascence, making this branch of the work more comprehensive and useful to the general reader.

The section dealing with the applied arts has also been enlarged, additional plates of Gold and Silver, Bronzes, Furniture, Wood-carvings, and Bookbindings being inserted, together with a number of the beautiful initial letters of the early printed books of the latter part of the 15th and the early 16th centuries, illustrating the vitality, inventiveness, and skill of the craftsmen of the past.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages