Swirling with gargoyles, devils, dragons, griffins, and other haunting figures, this otherworldly assortment features illustrations from a rare 19th-century volume: cartouches, frames, doors, trophies, cabinets, friezes, and much more.

Abounding in cherubs, nymphs, soldiers, kings, dragons, and other flamboyant motifs, this compilation of ornamental designs was originally published in Paris during the 1840s. The extravagant images are based on a wide variety of historical examples that date back as far as the 1500s and include imaginative renderings by Watteau and Durer. Created as embellishments for walls, arms and armor, and everyday objects, these designs remain eminently useful for graphic and decorative purposes. Professional and amateur artists and designers as well as cardmakers and scrapbookers will find this compilation a practical resource of versatile and royalty-free art. This volume is the successor to Dover Publications' "Fantastic Ornament, "another modern reprint of a rare nineteenth-century publication. Dover (2013) new selection of material from "Portefeuille Historique de l'Ornement/Ornaments of the Classical Masters: Comprising Ornamental Borders, Decorations, Shields, Vases, Alphabet of Letters, Grotesque Designs, Patterns for Gold and Silver-Smiths, " A. Hauser, Paris, 1841. See every Dover book in print at www.doverpublications.com

Engraved in the 19th century, these flamboyant ornamental designs are based on a wide variety of historical examples, dating back as far as the 1500s and including images by Watteau and Dürer.

Dancing beasts of myth and legend, thick foliage that appears to live and breathe, reclining figures engulfed by symbols of fate — this spectacular compendium of 15th- and 18th-century decorative elements offers up a dizzying array of designs steeped in fantasy. A marvel of history and art! 127 black-and-white illustrations.

The decorative arts of the Middle Ages — richly ornate, filled with religious and mythic symbolism — were especially remarkable for the complexities of their design and their inspired craftsmanship. This fascinating volume presents nearly 1,000 illustrations of medieval ornament, consisting mostly of architectural elements from German Romanesque and Gothic churches and other buildings. Originally compiled by the German architect, painter, and engraver Karl Alexander von Heldeloff (1788–1865) as a source of study and inspiration for practicing artists and architects, this grand pictorial archive has been exactingly reproduced from a rare original edition, complete with new English translations of the German captions. The book is filled with precisely detailed engravings of doors, windows, decorative stonework, columns, pedestals, and more. It remains a richly varied resource of authentic images of medieval ornament, ideal for students of architecture and the decorative arts and essential for graphic artists and designers in search of royalty-free illustrations.

This classic sourcebook of decorative motifs contains 100 plates of royalty-free Gothic designs, meticulously reproduced from rare 19th-century engravings. Many are floral and foliate designs rendered from panels, capitals, borders, brackets, friezes, grotesques, and other decorative elements from such architectural landmarks as New College Chapel at Oxford and Rouen Cathedral.

Drawn from rare and classic 18th- and 19th-century sources, this collection features a lavish assortment of scrolls, borders, flourishes, andcartouches as well as floral, botanical, and mythologicalmotifs."