Hundreds of winsome, full-color illustrations — all from rare vintage publications — include images of jolly old St. Nicholas, evergreen wreaths and garlands, exuberant children playing with holiday gifts, and much more. The collection features 362 festive designs, ideal for use in ads, personalized greeting cards, giftwrap, and other print projects.

The papers that follow this need no explanation, since they are directed towards special sides of the Arts and Crafts. Mr. Crane has put forward the aims of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society as an Exhibition Society, therefore I need not enlarge upon that phase of this book. But I will write a few words on the way in which it seems to me we ought to face the present position of that revival in decorative art of which our Society is one of the tokens. And, in the first place, the very fact{vi} that there is a "revival" shows that the arts aforesaid have been sick unto death. In all such changes the first of the new does not appear till there is little or no life left in the old, and yet the old, even when it is all but dead, goes on living in corruption, and refuses to get itself put quietly out of the way and decently buried. So that while the revival advances and does some good work, the period of corruption goes on from worse to worse, till it arrives at the point when it can no longer be borne, and disappears. To give a concrete example: in these last days there are many buildings erected which (in spite of our eclecticism, our lack of a traditional style) are at least well designed and give pleasure to the eye; nevertheless, so hopelessly hideous and vulgar is general building that persons of taste find themselves regretting the brown brick box with its{vii} feeble and trumpery attempts at ornament, which characterises the style of building current at the end of the last and beginning of this century, because there is some style about it, and even some merit of design, if only negative.

Seventy large-size illustrations trace Mucha's skills as a draftsman over more than 40 years. Among the more famous examples are original plans and drawings for "The Seasons," and sketches for the Sarah Bernhardt poster.

In our industrialized society, it is often difficult to imagine how the objects around us are made. How, for example, are triple spirals put into the stem of a wine glass or table tops inlaid with whole landscapes of semi-precious stones? This unique dictionary is devoted to the fascinating materials and techniques used in the decorative arts. Materials range from the exotic to the most basic, from rare stones found only in the mountains of Badakshan, unsavory animal products, and the ground bodies of South American insects to ones as common as sand, clay, and lime. Compiled by a team of experts, each with an intimate knowledge of his or her subject, the entries are written in clear, accessible language and supplemented by numerous photographs and drawings. Each core material (glass, ceramics, textiles, paper, plastics, leather, metal, stone, wood, and paint) is covered from its raw state through any processing or preparation to various craft stages and finally, to any surface finishing. Traditionally, the kind of information found in these pages has been passed on from craftsman to craftsman or confined to highly specialized books, and even common terms are often misunderstood. This dictionary makes the subject accessible to all--from art and architectural historians, curators, collectors, restoration specialists, artists, and museum staff to decorators, aficionados, and those who enjoy watching Antiques Roadshow. In short, this book is for all those who are intrigued by the materials and techniques used to create the beautiful objects that surround us.