Jones
Architect, designer, and design theorist Owen Jones (1809–1874) produced The Grammar of Ornament in the early days of chromolithography. It was a monumental publishing achievement. The work includes full-color illustrations documenting patterns and design motifs from nineteen cultural periods and the natural world.
In its early iteration chromolithography was an elaborate and expensive process. In Jones’s work, to produce each illustrated page up to twenty individual lithographic plates were required, one for each color. The plates were printed in layers to achieve the final colored illustration.
The Grammar of Ornament has remained in print to this day, a testament to its enduring visual and design appeal.
From the Library of Susan Dwight Bliss.