Treasury of Ironwork Designs: 469 Examples from Historical Sources

by Carol Belanger Grafton (Editor), Carol Belanger Grafton (Editor)

The history of Western decorative arts is filled with splendid examples of ornamental ironwork — elaborately wrought designs for gates and fences, finials and posts, banisters, window grilles, signs and marquees, cathedral screens, and a host of other architectural and decorative features. This practical archive brings together nearly 500 outstanding examples of the ironmaker's art. Meticulously rendered in fine black-and-white line art, the designs have been reprinted from rare European and American catalogs and periodicals of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including L'Art Pour Tous, Art Journal, The Illustrated London News, Harper's Monthly, and others.
The designs illustrated here date from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century, encompassing the ornate figuration of the Renaissance, the exuberant innovations of Baroque and Rococo artists, and the sinuous designs of nineteenth-century ironworkers inspired by the Art Nouveau aesthetic. Artists, architects, designers, and craftspersons will find this volume an ideal sourcebook of beautiful designs — all royalty-free — from a great tradition in the decorative arts.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1992

Reviews

[Anita Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great examples of designs.

While there are 469 pictorial examples, that is ALL there is. The description, in all fairness, does not indicate that there is NO text along with the pictures. I gave the book 4 stars because I haven't seen a book with as many examples of patterns and uses.