Textile Designs: Two Hundred Years of European and American Patterns Organized by Motif, Style, Color, Layout, and Period

by Joost Elffers and Susan Meller

Never before have printed textiles been celebrated in a book of this magnitude. Now in paperback, Textile Designs is the indispensable sourcebook for the colorful patterned materials that have been used in fashion and interiors for the past 200 years. Organized not chronologically or geographically but by motif -- Floral, Geometric, Conversational, Ethnic, and Art Movements and Period Styles -- this bible of textile design presents a stunning cross-section...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810925087
• ISBN13: 9780810925083
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 4.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 9.1" x 11.6"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

TEXTILE DESIGNS DIGITAL: FLORAL WELL WORTH THE MONEY!

This is in response to "Betty Blue's" comments about the FLORAL CD-ROM. All of the images on the CD's were professionally scanned by one of the top commercial labs in New York City. The scans were made directly from the original negatives that were used to print the book, TEXTILE DESIGNS. Any "dirt and dust" that may appear is NOT a result of the scanning, but age marks that can show up on documentary textiles - after all, most of these designs are between 60 and 150 years old! The vast majority of the images are clean, but when imperfections did appear, they were deliberately not erased. This was explained in the introduction to the CD. While the images in the book were often cropped for layout reasons, the CD-ROM always shows the original uncropped design. Therefore, many more of the digital images are in full repeat. This in itself is well worth the money - but there is more. Unlike the book, ALL the TEXTILE DESIGNS DIGITAL images are ROYALTY FREE. "Betty Blue" got the use of 494 well-chosen documentary floral designs for less than 60 cents each. Now that is well worth the money!

A beautiful resource of imagery

This resource of patterns has a clear organization. The reproduction is very nice and the diversity of images is a rich resource. The information is brief, but a visual reference of this kind with supporting context is helpful no matter how brief.

Textile Designs: Two Hundred Years...

This book is crammed with designs in every conceivable category. It is a must for anyone studying textile or surface design.

Best new resource for textile designers!

This CD collection of excerpts from the illustrated book has become a vital resource for me and my staff of textile designers. It saves a great deal of time and effort in scanning and cleaning artwork, and allows us to combine elements from many different pieces into entirely new patterns.Every design studio I know of owns at least one copy of the book, and to have quick CD access to this wealth of inspiration is terrific. I look forward to the next volumes!

A Visual Feast

TEXTILE DESIGNS delighted my eyes and mind. Not only are most of the 1800 photos of designs breath-taking in their beauty; the book is organized so that each page tells a lively story about the category of textile displayed. I discovered technical, historical, cultural, and even political aspects of the designs. The writing itself is engaging, elegant and can be unexpectedly humourous. All in all, a treat for oneself, or gift for another that I would highly recommend.