The Grammar of Ornament

A new edition of the classic volume, first published in 1856, presents a comprehensive, organized catalog of decorative elements from various European and Asian cultures, featuring more than two thousand beautifully rendered patterns and designs, accompanied by helpful captions and commentary.

Owen Jones was an architect and designer who taught at the South Kensington School of Design, London, during the 1850s and served as joint architect of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The following year he was appointed Director of Decorations for the new Crystal Palace exhibition in Sydenham, south London. The Grammar of Ornament, his legacy to designers, quickly acquired the st...

Owen Jones was an architect and designer who taught at the South Kensington School of Design, London, during the 1850s and served as joint architect of the Great Exhibition of 1851. The following year he was appointed Director of Decorations for the new Crystal Palace exhibition in Sydenham, south London. The Grammar of Ornament, his legacy to designers, quickly acquired the status of a classic. He died in 1874. Iain Zaczek, who has contributed the commentaries, is an art historian who graduated from Wadham College, Oxford University, and the Courtauld Institute, London. He has written on a wide variety of topics, but his special interest is in nineteenth-century art. He is the author of The Essential William Morris, The Essential Art Deco, and The Art of Illuminated Manuscripts.