DOLMETSCH, Heinrich

Historic Styles of Ornament

      DOLMETSCH, Heinrich. The Historic Styles of Ornament, Containing 1500 Examples from All Countries and All Periods. London: B.T. Batsford, (1912). Folio (10 by 13-1/2 inches), original maroon cloth, gilt cover border and lettering. $1200. Second edition in English of one of the great anthologies of historic ornament and design, with 100 folio-size plates (75 brilliant chromolithographs). First published in English in 1898, this is one of the great 19th-century studies in pattern and design—on par with Owen Jones' Grammar of Ornament (1854) and Auguste Racinet's Historic Ornament (1875). Encyclopedic in scope and arranged chronologically, this extensive collection of 100 plates containing 1,500 designs is accompanied by detailed descriptions of Ancient Egyptian and Grecian Art, Roman architecture and sculpture, Byzantine embroidery and illuminated manuscripts, Italian glass painting, French tapestries from the Renaissance, mosaic floors, painted plasterwork, and metal ornaments. A veritable treasure chest of decorative designs and motifs. Owner signatures. Text and plates near-fine, with occasional marks of handling and stains to Plate 12. A near-fine copy in beautiful, elaborate publisher's cloth-gilt.