Old English Tile Designs for Artists and Craftspeople (Dover Pictorial Archive Series) (Paperback)

by Carol Belanger Grafton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Over 150 engravings of original ceramic paving tiles from medieval cathedrals and monasteries—geometrics, mosaics, Gothic and Romanesque themes, rich medieval imagery. Sharp, copyright-free designs lend themselves to ceramics, serigraphy, photosilkscreen and batik, leather tooling, wood burning, enameling, marquetry and more. 161 black-and-white illustrations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (December 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486247775
• ISBN-13: 978-0486247779
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #762,544 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice design illustrations, December 20, 1999

By	Jody Palm "bookgoddess" (Greeneville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are 150 floor tile designs from medieval cathedrals and monasteries rendered in black&white. Lots of animals, dragons, griffins, and fleur-de-lis. There are also face images of kings, jesters, etc.

All designs are shown in decent (maybe actual?) tile size (around 4-5 inches square), as well as in groups of four (or more if required), to show how repeats would work. All designs are very bold and simple, but amazing when placed in repeat.

Nice designs for beginning tile makers to use, since the designs can be easily worked in clay. Well worth the cost of the book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old English Tile Designs, September 8, 2005

By	William McPherson (Denver, CO, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As the Master of the Saint Caitlin's Guild of Hairy Potters, I have been teaching classes in the crafts of the Middle Ages, including the making of the tiles in the retro Quire at Winchester. This handy little volume allows the copying of designs for everyone in the class, with a range of easy to difficult, and scaled to produce four inch tiles allowing for clay shrinkage.
All my work is done for me. All I have to do now . . .is teach.

4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT reference book for tile or ornamental design--a MUST have for your library., April 21, 2008

By	Tori Frost "forgetthediamonds" (New England) - See all my reviews

This is an informative book loaded with many, many nice, easy designs to replicate or gain ideas from. Some of the illustrations seem rudimentary and uneven, not professionally finished, but if you can overlook that fact and "crisp up" or perfect the drawings yourself it would be a great asset to your collection.
Otherwise, I like this book and will refer to it many times in the future.