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1,001 Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to Imagery and Its Meaning
Pleasingly chunky and vibrantly colorful, this pocket-sized compendium covers iconography from around the world and is perfect for travel and museum outings. Author Jack Tresidder examines common imagery in art, religion, and literature, revealing hidden meanings rich with cultural history. For example, did you know that the phrase "salt of the earth" comes from the ancient use of salt as a preservative and the associated idea of incorruptibility? There is a symbol for virtually every human emotion and 1,001 Symbols helps us unlock them in a winning format that's proven as popular as its subject.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
7 people are currently reading
128 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 9, 2018
This reference work is like a thesaurus. It lists the idea, quality or state symbolised and then discusses all the major symbols used to represent it under the topic. Important symbols with multiple meanings therefore appear under various different topic headings. Related topics are sometimes grouped together.
The goal is to provide an overview of the various symbols used by different cultures that stand for concepts like wisdom, goodness, evil, truth justice, freedom and salvation amongst others. The author claims that traditional symbolism as a whole was developed to represent a relatively small spectrum of ideas that were seen as the keystones of civilisation, in order to emphasize the positive over the negative.
There are many cross-references, an index and more than 130 beautiful monotone and full colour illustrations. The main headings are: Blessings and Hardships, Human Qualities and Powers, Virtues and Vices, Emotions and Instincts, States and Conditions, The Spiritual Life. Symbols from both West and East are discussed in a way that covers their significance in religion, literature, art and human consciousness.
The goal is to provide an overview of the various symbols used by different cultures that stand for concepts like wisdom, goodness, evil, truth justice, freedom and salvation amongst others. The author claims that traditional symbolism as a whole was developed to represent a relatively small spectrum of ideas that were seen as the keystones of civilisation, in order to emphasize the positive over the negative.
There are many cross-references, an index and more than 130 beautiful monotone and full colour illustrations. The main headings are: Blessings and Hardships, Human Qualities and Powers, Virtues and Vices, Emotions and Instincts, States and Conditions, The Spiritual Life. Symbols from both West and East are discussed in a way that covers their significance in religion, literature, art and human consciousness.
September 12, 2014
1001 Symbols is a very thick yet pocket-sized guide to the world of symbology, covering 1001 symbols from all over the world and of all ages. Jack Tresidder takes his readers on an enjoyable ride past common imagery presented in all kinds of media around the world, most notably in art, literature, and religion. Before he does that, he also gives the reader a brief introductory on symbols in general. In this introduction, he stresses that symbols used traditionally in iconography only represent a small portion of human emotion and culture, and are usually seen as universal values and/or themes.
The book is divided into six of those main themes, all containing extensive lists of sub-themes, further adding to the depth of the book. Symbols with multiple interpretations might appear under different headings throughout the book, and Tresidder is very thorough in this. It also includes many, many cross-references, making it easy to use and to read when looking up a certain symbol and/or theme.
It’s a very colourful, nicely designed book with lovely illustrations and a clear lay-out, and its tiny size makes it easy to bring along with you. It’s a very good work of reference, especially thanks to its many cross-references, and vivid images. However, due to its large content and its small size, it’s become a very thick book, which can be troublesome when trying to hold it open in order to look something up. I usually don’t take offense at something like that, but it really is a little too much in this case, as the spine of the book and the paper used for the pages are also quite stiff. I had to break the spine of my book several times just in order to view a text or illustration properly, and this is something I abhor doing.
In conclusion, a great work of reference on symbols used in traditional imagery. I found it didn’t invite much to read it as an actual book, and usually only grab it whenever I feel the need to look something up.
The book is divided into six of those main themes, all containing extensive lists of sub-themes, further adding to the depth of the book. Symbols with multiple interpretations might appear under different headings throughout the book, and Tresidder is very thorough in this. It also includes many, many cross-references, making it easy to use and to read when looking up a certain symbol and/or theme.
It’s a very colourful, nicely designed book with lovely illustrations and a clear lay-out, and its tiny size makes it easy to bring along with you. It’s a very good work of reference, especially thanks to its many cross-references, and vivid images. However, due to its large content and its small size, it’s become a very thick book, which can be troublesome when trying to hold it open in order to look something up. I usually don’t take offense at something like that, but it really is a little too much in this case, as the spine of the book and the paper used for the pages are also quite stiff. I had to break the spine of my book several times just in order to view a text or illustration properly, and this is something I abhor doing.
In conclusion, a great work of reference on symbols used in traditional imagery. I found it didn’t invite much to read it as an actual book, and usually only grab it whenever I feel the need to look something up.
April 18, 2018
Rather a badly chosen format for the book - too small/thick, as well as many symbols missing illustrations that would seems desirable since the author himself states it's sorted as an encyclopedia rather than a glossary (which is what it actually feels like as it's all mostly text).
February 19, 2018
Very thorough and interesting. Lots of images.
December 14, 2020
A good guide for symbols, learned a lot, about a history too and not just symbols. Liked the images too, they were very beautiful. The book is too hard to hold on hands.
November 11, 2021
Celom dobra encyklopedia symbolov, len som mala pocit ze urcite veci sa opakuju
February 17, 2017
Thick reference book of sorts for many different kinds of symbols. Very few of the symbols listed actually come with a picture though, which irritated me.
The book is organised according to the type of feeling a symbol is supposed to convey. E.g. peace, anger, love, jealousy, etc. Each chapter lists the various symbols associated with that feeling (e.g. peace - dove, love - heart, etc), and gives a bit of background as to how and/or why each symbol came to be associated with it.
I was expecting to find more modern symbols in this book (e.g. the "peace sign" for peace), but instead the book showcases only plants, animals and "traditional" objects like axes, animal horns, Indian deities, etc. Most of the symbols date back to the medieval era and everything that came before it.
Not a useful book if you're looking for something that showcases "modern" symbols (e.g. the "anarchy sign", the "peace sign", etc) and how they came to be.
The book is organised according to the type of feeling a symbol is supposed to convey. E.g. peace, anger, love, jealousy, etc. Each chapter lists the various symbols associated with that feeling (e.g. peace - dove, love - heart, etc), and gives a bit of background as to how and/or why each symbol came to be associated with it.
I was expecting to find more modern symbols in this book (e.g. the "peace sign" for peace), but instead the book showcases only plants, animals and "traditional" objects like axes, animal horns, Indian deities, etc. Most of the symbols date back to the medieval era and everything that came before it.
Not a useful book if you're looking for something that showcases "modern" symbols (e.g. the "anarchy sign", the "peace sign", etc) and how they came to be.
June 11, 2016
Giving this 5 stars for thoroughness and the enjoyable layout and informativeness of this book. Particularly for writers and artists who enjoy studying/using symbolism in their work, this book is exceedingly helpful and fun to read. Cool illustrations and a broad scope of cultures make this a rich resource. An enjoyable, easy read!
September 24, 2008
while I expected this to be cursory (due to size) I was surprised that many of the symbols and explainations had primarily christian leanings.
There is a bent for lithographic-like illustrations. I liked that considering I am using it for art inspiration.
There is a bent for lithographic-like illustrations. I liked that considering I am using it for art inspiration.
October 18, 2007
a cute book - mostly pictures - just the brief basics but inclused symbols from all over the world and all time tables.
July 7, 2009
Neat book... I've never been able to figure out how it works though
April 17, 2009
I guess it's time to grow antlers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews