The Grammar of Ornament

This was the first encyclopedic pattern book that examined ornament from a variety of cultures and historic periods. Jones created the Grammar to educate designers and stressed the need for a study of historic styles in order to prepare for an ornamental language suitable to the new industrial age. The Grammar was extremely influential in design schools in the latter half of the nineteenth century, and is still in print today, maintaining its relevance as a source of inspiration for contemporary designers. It is also one of the nineteenth century's great monuments of chromolithographic printing.