Use of Ornament Books

Decorative Flower and Leaf Designs (Dover Design Library)

Richard Hofmann

Amazon Price: $6.95 List Price: $6.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $3.66

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Decorative Arts
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Clip Art
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Graphic Arts -> Use of Ornament

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Dover does it again 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Another excellent book from Dover. Unlike many design books, this book has many variations on stylized flower designs.

Just as I thought it would be... 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I am a freelance artist and was looking for a good source of stylized florals/paisleys for some drawings that I wanted to do...this book fits the bill perfectly! The designs are full of detail and the book carries enough variety to supply my needs for a very long time.
With the added use of my own imagination, I can see myself happily referring to it for when ever my needs cross over into this type of theme. The only way to make it better would be to make it hold even more than it already does...
Well done!

Not much to look at 2 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I found that that designd in the book were all very similiar and not much in the way of sparking any creativity. Don't bother with this one since there are much better ones out there. Go with "4000 Flower and Plant Motifs"

Editorial Review:

Attractive selection of illustrations, reprinted from rare late-19th-century German collection of designs for surface decoration, textiles, other uses. Includes 124 stylized representations of lush blossoms, tropical fruits and graceful foliage. Inspirational, royalty-free, low-cost sourcebook for artists and craftworkers.

Animals: 1,419 Copyright-Free Illustrations of Mammals, Birds, Fish, Insects, etc. (Dover Pictorial Archives)

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $7.36

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Clip Art
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Graphic Arts -> Use of Ornament
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Printmaking

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Very Nice 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This is just packed full of brilliant illustrations of birds frogs fish girafee spiders butterflies you name it , throughly recommended for any one who loves botanical illustrations or engravings , really good source material for artists or designers.very nice book but rember it is a paper back not that that matters to me.

Well worth it. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Used several of these drawings in projects. Books like this are great for those of us designers who aren't the best freehand drawers.

Enjoyed the broad range of life illustrated for this volume 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Wow - the enormous numbers of animal life is astounding and the book clearly shows this. Unfortunately the images are quite dark and the book is very thick (you get your money's worth - image-wise), so scanning them for use in various artistic media is difficult. Therefore, I bought two of the books and plan to cut one of them up (that hurts to say for I treasure books of all types). This way I can control the scanning and modification using software to bring out details and highlight an image to my satisfaction. And finally, the classic images are impressive and I applaud the author for his selection of animals from all realms of life on earth.

Editorial Review:

Clear wood engravings present, in extremely lifelike poses, over 1,000 species of animals.

Arabic Geometrical Pattern and Design (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

J. Bourgoin

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 46 new & used starting at $5.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Decorative Arts

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Geometrical Designs in Black and White 3 out of 5 stars.
35 of 35 people found this review helpful.

This book is full of different patterns for use by craftsmen. Unfortunately, it has no color illustrations, and no information about sources for these designs. It is more like a coloring book than a resource for designs. However, it does have guidelines within each design to show how the design was created, and I find that useful.

must have 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful.

Arabic Geometrical Patterns are not so easy to find, not to mention understand their knowhows, this book clearly displays a very wide array of examples with simple step by step instructions displayed on the same platform, i was searching for a book like that, this book is quite enough, it is not for novice beginners though, you need to have some background in such subject as the text and discription for each chapter is very limited, and the book is totally black and white, so you have to figureout what color combinations are suitable. But the layout of the book makes reprouducing the wounderful examples easy.

Editorial Review:

Intricate overall patterns based on hexagon, octagon, geometric figures, rosettes, much more from traditional sources. 200 plates.

Viking Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

A. G. Smith

Amazon Price: $6.95 List Price: $6.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $3.85

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Decorative Arts
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Clip Art
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Graphic Arts -> Use of Ornament

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Should have known better 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I was very disapointed with this book. But I should have known, Dover Publications tends to produce shoddy material. I was not impressed with the quality of the art work. I expected to see clearer designs. It looked to me like they let a five year old trace some pictures from a history book.
All though it is from a different culture I would recomend Celtic Designs by Chris Down. The artwork is amazingly clear and very reproducable! If you see this book then you will know exactly why Viking Designs is such a let down!

Good Art and Well Sourced 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. The artwork is clear Black and White linework, with notations on each page about where the design came from and what it was used on. I would recommend this to anyone interested in Historical Reproductions.

Editorial Review:

Over 175 dynamic, royalty-free motifs — in a wide range of styles — taken from the metalwork, woodwork, textiles, carving, and ceramics of the Viking homelands. Sinuously intertwined patterns, mythological animals, dragon-slaying heroes on horseback, and many more. Now available in this inexpensive volume, these authentic images will provide endless inspiration.

Treasury of Flower Designs for Artists, Embroiderers and Craftsmen (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Susan Gaber

Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $7.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $2.52

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Decorative Arts
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Clip Art
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Graphic Arts -> Use of Ornament

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excellent source book 5 out of 5 stars.
26 of 26 people found this review helpful.

This book of black and white line drawings has a wealth of flower designs in several sizes and shows those flowers from several different angles. Most common American flowers are represented and the index makes a particular flower easy to locate. I have used it for pen and ink drawing, china painting, and embroidery designs but it would be equally useful to woodworkers or oil painters. The renditions are detailed enough to get a firm understanding of the flowers structure and the shading, while subtle, would be helpful to a new student who might have problems with light and shadow. It is one of the most used source books in my collection.

A good garden floral design book 3 out of 5 stars.
10 of 14 people found this review helpful.

It pertains a good assortment of garden flowers and the drawing is graceful. Yet, the interpretation of the shading by scatter dots sometimes make the design look too busy.

Editorial Review:

A hundred garden favorites rendered in black-and-white line illustrations will suggest numerous design and artistic uses to artists, designers, craftsmen, needleworkers. Amaryllis, anemone, begonia, cinquefoil, peony, snapdragon flow and weave, many forming borders and frames. All drawings royalty-free.

Women: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources (Dover Pictorial Archives)

Amazon Price: $8.62 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $3.48

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Clip Art

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great clarity! 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Wonderful selection. Clear illustrations, easily reproduced for pixels, a little more complicated for vectors because the paper is ever so slightly porous, but it is nicely opaque. And the paper does not change!! My copy dates back and the paper is still white. Great job.

A good mix 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I liked this book very much - it was a good mix of vintage images showing women in a very wide range of settings. i plan to use it for altered books and art journals and I forsee it being very useful because of the variety. I liked this better than several of the other clip art books of the same publisher; this is one of the most useful.

Women: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth Century Sources 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I use the pictures in this book for collages. I love the vintage look of the pictures and find that there is a good variety of sizes and subject matter.

Editorial Review:

Lush allegorical ladies, Grecian maids and Victorian maidens, Indians, Japanese, dancers, housewives, courtesans; women dancing, smiling, working, weeping, flirting — an unusually rich sourcebook of feminine poses and activities, costumes, clothing, everyday life, etc. 488 illustrations.

The Grammar of Ornament

Owen Jones

Amazon Price: $15.61 List Price: $22.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DK ADULT Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $4.40

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Decorative Arts
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Graphic Arts -> Use of Ornament
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

An excellent resource for artists, designers, architects, craftspeople, or anyone interested in the decorative arts. First published in 1856, The Grammar of Ornament remains a design classic. Its inspiration came from the pioneering architect and designer Owen Jones. His observations of decorative art on his extensive travels in Europe and the Near East were employed to improve the poor quality of Western design. His goal was to change the Victorian habit of mixing elements from a wide variety of sources and applying this mix indiscriminately to buildings, graphic design, and products. His resulting study is a comprehensive analysis of a remarkable collection of styles of ornamental design -- from Ancient Egypt and Greece to Imperial China and Renaissance Italy. With its sumptuous illustrations, its detailed survey of individual cultures, and its manifesto of "General Principles," it offered guidance to the designers of the future. In this new edition the designs are further illuminated by Iain Zaczek's perceptive commentaries. Hugely influential since its first publication, The Grammar of Ornament inspired great figures such as William Morris and Frank Lloyd Wright. Contemporary designers, entertained by the archaic charm of Jones's descriptions, are struck by the book's enduring relevance and its soundness regarding the essential principles of good design.

Gothic and Old English Alphabets: 100 Complete Fonts (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Dan X. Solo

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $4.18

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Calligraphy
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Graphic Arts -> Use of Ornament
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Typography

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A must purchase for every tatto parlor 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

You think I'm kidding, but I am not. I do not know how many times I have searched the calligraphy books for "Old English" for proletariats who wished just the correct typography to permanently stain some dopey word to their body, apparently to guarantee a lifetime of minimum wage employment. This is just what they are looking for. 100 pages of fonts, one of which is guaranteed to meet the victim's expectations. So, you do not need to be a calligrapher to buy this book. A tattoo parlor or even a public library will find this book indispensible. I'm not kidding.

perfect book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

lots of complete fonts, Capital, lowercase and numbers. has everything i wanted so i could practice and master any style i want.

Great Font book! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is the most popular font book I have for my customers. As a tattooist, finding fonts that are interesting but still legible is very important. This book is a great tattoo resource for anyone who makes their own stencils from scratch. The customers love the fonts and they're very clean and easy to trace/copy. Dover makes a few of these books, and I have five of them in total, but this one is the most popular with my customers.

Editorial Review:

100 royalty-free alphabets: Blackstone, Dolbey, Germania, 97 more — with many lowercases, numerals, punctuation marks.

Script and Cursive Alphabets: 100 Complete Fonts (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Dan X. Solo

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 36 new & used starting at $5.46

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Calligraphy
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Graphic Arts -> Use of Ornament
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Typography

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great refrence book for different kinds of fonts to make good stencils 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is really great as a reference and as a stencil tracer for words and names in different fonts. They are very clear and easy to copy. I recomend this book to every tattoo artist and want to be tattoo artist.

Nice fonts! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

As a tattooist, this book is very helpful for making scripts. The fonts are varied and intricate but also very legible. I have ordered a few of the different Dover font books and they're all wonderful, but this is one of the most popular with customers.

Editorial Review:

A rich sourcebook of type styles, from Liberty and Hannover to Virginia Antique in upper- and lower-case alphabets, plus numerals.

Symbols, Signs and Signets (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Ernst Lehner

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Dover Publications Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $2.14

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Design & Decorative Arts -> Graphic Design -> Clip Art

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A thorough collection of symbols, signs, and signets... 4 out of 5 stars.
18 of 19 people found this review helpful.

This book has over 200 pages of various symbols, ranging from simple drawings to intricate designs. They are arranged in historical order, begin with various gods and end with hobo signs. Each chapter is preceded with a list of references (the signs are identified by number) and the symbols included are grouped like so:

Symbolic Gods & Deities; Astronomy & Astrology; Alchemy; Magic & Mystic; Church Religion; Heraldry; Monsters & Imaginary Figures; Japanese Crests; Marks & Signets; Watermarks; Printers Marks; Cattle Brands; and Hobo Signs.

There are over 1350 illustrations contained in this book, and all are crisply printed in black and white. Each section has a short blurb in front of it, but not an extensive history. This book would appeal to history lovers, graphic designers, and other symbol geeks. And for the price, it's worth buying.

Editorial Review:

1,355 signs, seals, symbols: Babylonia, Egypt, Greece, Rome; Germanic, Byzantine, Renaissance, Aztec, Hindu, Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, others. Astrological, alchemical, magical, early Christian, masonic, heraldic, crests, goldsmiths' marks, watermarks, all reproduced from authentic sources. Mostly unavailable elsewhere. Reference, decorative, advertising art.