Textile Designs: Two Hundred Years of European and American Patterns… (1991)

As an avid fan of Victorian period clothing and decor I find this book indispensable. It contains so many beautiful examples that are carefully organized by style and most are given dates to the decade or even to the year. It's given me a much better understanding of when the many patterns that I recognize on modern shelves really originated (and a lot of them are earlier than I would have thought). ( )

The patterns in Textile Designs are from The Design Library in New York, which holds a collection of several million textiles and designs. They are organized by design family--floral, geometric, conversational, ethnic, and art movements and period styles. The families are further divided by motif, layout, color, printing techniques, and fabrication. Each pattern type is briefly described and each design is labelled by country: date; type of textile or other medium (such as the designer's original gouache on paper); printing process, intended use, and scale. Some of the designs were also used in the Giftwraps by Artists series.

The table of contents is conveniently laid out on two facing pages and the index is satisfyingly complete; the TOC and a brief introduction are printed in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese.

While intended for textile designers, Textile Designs is also useful as an illustrated dictionary (although not in dictionary form) for people who want examples of unfamiliar patterns. Everyone has seen a bandanna, but what are Indiennes, madders, or picotage?

It's also just fun for people like me who find designs and patterns enthralling. I find it more satisfying than a swatch book because it is more informative.

BTW, the patterns are also available in CD-ROM form (at about ten times the cost of the paperback edition). ( )

OMG, how have I managed to miss this book for all this time? This is a great resource for anyone interested in vintage fabrics or modern reproductions. Over 1800 photos in color. Many of the photos are full scale, and the scale is indicated where photos have been scaled down. Open this book at your peril - you can easily spend hours immersed in it.

Includes contents and a brief introduction in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese. ( )