Owen Jones - The Grammar of Ornament, original & facsimile - 1865-1986

Unique combination of this 1. original 1865 and 2. reprint 1986

1. Original 1865
Ornament.- Jones (Owen) The Grammar of Ornament, additional chromolithograph frontis title piece and 111 plates (missing plate 53*) occasional finger-soiling, original decorative red cloth, gilt floral embossing at front, and floral embossing at back, rebacked preserving original spine with gilt decoration, title, year, publisher, rubbed and faded, folio, gilt page ends, Day and Son, [1865]. (First edition; Day and Son 1856, second (this) edition; Day and Son 1865, third edition; Bernard Quaritch 1868).

The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones. Illustrated by Examples from Various Styles of Ornament. One Hundred and Twelve Plates. London: Published by Day and Son, Limited, Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. 1865, 157 pp + 111 (from 112) plates (numbered up to 100, but some numbers contain two plates), 13.5 x 10" , folio. In fair condition. Cloth boards scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Gilt deco on front board overall bright and clean. Gilt lettering on spine dulled, but legible. All edges gilt. Overall, very attractive. All plates but one presentable. Binding intact. Please see photos for overall condition. Owen Jones (1809 1874) was a British architect. A versatile architect and designer, he was also one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century. He helped pioneer modern color theory, and his theories on flat patterning and ornament still resonate with contemporary designers today. He rose to prominence with his studies of Islamic decoration at the Alhambra, and the associated publication of his drawings, which pioneered new standards in chromolithography. Jones was a pivotal figure in the formation of the South Kensington Museum (later to become the Victoria and Albert Museum) through his close association with Henry Cole, the museum's first director, and another key figure in 19th century design reform. Jones was also responsible for the interior decoration and layout of exhibits for the Great Exhibition building of 1851, and for its later incarnation at Sydenham. Jones advised on the foundation collections for the South Kensington museum, and formulated decorative arts principles which became teaching frameworks for the Government School of Design, then at Marlborough House. These design propositions also formed the basis for his seminal publication, The Grammar of Ornament, the global and historical design sourcebook for which Jones is perhaps best known today. Through his articles and lectures, Jones had been formulating what he considered to be key principles for the decorative arts, and indeed these principles provided the new educational framework for the Government School of Design at Marlborough House. Jones expanded his propositions to create 37 "general principles in the arrangement of form and color in architecture and the decorative arts" which became the preface to the 20 chapters of The Grammar of Ornament. The first 19 chapters of the Grammar present key examples of ornament from a number of sources which were diverse both historically and geographically examining the Middle East in the chapters on Arabian, Turkish, Moresque (Alhambra) and Persian ornament. The final chapter, titled Leaves and Flowers from Nature acknowledges the underlying principle that dictates the design of ornament around the world, which is the form found in nature: "in the best periods of art, all ornament was based upon an observation of the principles which regulate the arrangement of form in nature" and that "true art consists of idealizing, and not copying, the forms of nature". Day & Son 1865 edition. (First published 1856). All plates intact. Attractive contents. RAREB1865MTVX 06/24 - HK1820.

2. Reprint 1986
Owen Jones - The Grammar of Ornament - London, Studio Editions, 1986 - First edition reprint of 1856 original - 157 pp and 112 plates - blue linen hardcover with bright gilt decoration on front and letters on spine with dust jacket - 34 x 24 x 4 cm

Condition: Good - clean and bright beautiful copy

Quoted from website thegrammarofornament punt com :

The Grammar of Ornament
by Owen Jones

Owen Jones (1809 – 1874) was a London-born architect and designer and one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century.

Jones was a pivotal figure in the formation of the V&A through his close association with Henry Cole, the museum's first director. Jones was also responsible for the interior decoration and layout of exhibits for the Great Exhibition building of 1851.

These design propositions also formed the basis for his seminal publication, The Grammar of Ornament, the global and historical design sourcebook for which Jones is best known today.