Cover 1856

Curator: Let's delve into this beautiful lithograph titled "Cover," created by Owen Jones in 1856. It’s an intricate cover design, positively blooming with decorative elements. Editor: My first thought is "laborious." I can practically feel the lithographer's hands carefully laying down each color, each detail. What a commitment to ornament! Curator: Exactly. Jones was a champion of color lithography, seeing it as a way to bring affordable beauty to the masses. He believed good design could elevate everyday life. It’s also, you know, so beautifully extra, isn’t it? All those curlicues! Editor: Extra in the sense that it makes very evident the raw materials—stone, pigments, paper, human skill— required to produce it. The “Grammar of Ornament” was hardly an act of spontaneous creativity, rather the final stage of design based on long apprenticeships and collective endeavors. Curator: He did spend years researching and documenting decorative traditions from around the world. Those flowing, stylized leaves and geometric motifs pull from so many historical and cultural influences. Think illuminated manuscripts but flattened and reproduced for wider consumption. The intense craft in every motif of it almost brings tears to my eyes. Editor: And what was the economic model for distribution, consumption, and collection for this? You know, understanding this isn’t as straightforward as aesthetics can often reveal social dynamics often lost in plain sight. Curator: Well, "The Grammar of Ornament" was initially sold as a luxurious folio edition, which speaks to an interesting tension. Jones wanted to democratize design, but the book itself was a high-end product. Editor: So the irony being the "affordable beauty" for the masses actually started as "costly ornament for the elite". Curator: Perhaps, but it later was reprinted in more accessible formats. Regardless, the impact was undeniable; the book became hugely influential for designers, architects, and even printers for generations afterwards, and what a legacy that is. Editor: Certainly a crucial material document of 19th century aesthetic values. Next artwork please?