Books in Dover Pictorial Archives series

"Offers valuable material not only to students of crystallography but also to those of the arts." — The New York TimesDid you ever try to photograph a snowflake? The procedure is very tricky. The work must be done rapidly in extreme cold, for even body heat can melt a rare specimen that has been painstakingly mounted. The lighting must be just right to reveal all the nuances of design without producing heat. But the results can be rewarding, as the work of W. A. Bentley proved.For almost half a century, Bentley caught and photographed thousands of snowflakes in his workshop at Jericho, Vermont, and made available to scientists and art instructors samples of his remarkable work. In 1931, the American Meteorological Society gathered together the best of these photomicrographs, plus some slides of frost, glaze, dew on vegetation and spider webs, sleet, and soft hail, and a text by W. J. Humphreys, and had them published. That book is here reproduced, unaltered, and unabridged. Over 2,000 beautiful crystals on these pages reveal the wonder of nature's diversity in uniformity; no two are alike, yet all are based on a common hexagon.The introductory text covers the technique of photographing snow crystals, classification, the fundamentals of crystallography, and markings. There are also brief discussions of the nature and cause of ice flowers, windowpane frost, dew, rime, sleet, and graupel.The book is of great value both to students of ice forms and for textile and other designers who can use the natural designs of these snow crystals in their work. Every photograph is royalty-free; you may use up to 10 without fees, permission, or acknowledgement."A most unusual and very readable book." — Nature

An exotic blend of east and west, clothing styles in the Byzantine Empire were rich in color, fabric, and ornament. This carefully researched and scrupulously rendered coloring book by Tom Tierney features more than 80 Byzantine garments, as depicted in ancient mosaics and sculptures.Clothing styles from all classes are represented — from simple fourth-century tunics worn by early Christian commoners and the body armor of fifth-century Roman warriors to a pallium decorated with crosses worn by a priest of the tenth century, and the finely brocaded robes of Emperor Constantine.Here also are examples of royal wedding garb, heavily embroidered with jewels; a shepherd in a short tunic, long stockings, and leather boots; a court dancer wearing a brocaded silk gown with bell sleeves; as well as a lavishly attired court dignitary, a merchant, and a naval officer. Informative captions accompany each finely detailed illustration.

Over thousands of years, man has developed an enormous variety of offensive and defensive weapons for use in battle as well as a vast array of armor and other protective devices. Now artists and illustrators can draw on this extensive archive for superb copyright-free illustrations of vintage arms, armor, and other battlefield paraphernalia. Choose from a rich trove of over 750 illustrations compiled from rare nineteenth-century sources. Included are detailed, high-quality depictions — arranged chronologically and, to some extent, geographically — of suits of armor, chain mail, swords, halberds, spears, pikes, lances, crossbows, axes, daggers, helmets, shields, knives, small arms, and a host of other implements, along with scenes of battle, siege, jousts, soldiers, horses, and more. Especially suitable for projects requiring a medieval or old-fashioned flavor, these illustrations reproduce extremely well. They will fill a myriad of needs for battle-related graphic art.

Their contemporaries saw them as a hostile and hateful people — faithless and cruel enemies of civilization. But recent evidence gathered from archaeological ruins and a studied reappraisal of their achievements indicates that the Vikings were more than just a seafaring, warrior people. They practiced a disciplined and structured way of life, and were bound by a strict code of honor.Author A. G. Smith has chronicled the saga of these feared and fearless adventurers in this thoroughly researched coloring book. Thirty-eight realistically rendered drawings, including six double-page spreads, trace the exciting story of the Norsemen, whose daring explorations and warring ways profoundly affected European history from the eighth through the eleventh centuries.Here are vivid recreations of Viking life in Norway and Iceland; of raids in England and France; depictions of their presence in America (Vinland) and Russia; ship constructions, weapons, art, literature, mythology, agriculture, decisive battles, runes, and much more. An informative introduction outlines Viking history and ways of life, while descriptive captions for each illustration provide additional, fascinating information. Colorists will find Story of the Vikings Coloring Book offers hours of rewarding and educational coloring fun; artists and illustrators will appreciate the remarkable royalty-free illustrations, ideal for book and magazine illustrations and a host of other graphic purposes.

An architect and archaeologist born in France, Augustus Charles Pugin (1762–1832) fled to England during the Revolution and worked there for 17 years in the London office of the noted architect John Nash. Pugin's interest in the Gothic style — coming early during the Gothic Revival — resulted in this influential and exquisitely drawn book of architectural ornaments, each item copied with rare precision and flair from the original decoration.The 100 superb royalty-free plates in the present volume have been meticulously reproduced from a very rare early edition of plates dating from 1828–31. Here is a wealth of floral, foliate, and other designs rendered from panels, capitals, borders, brackets, friezes, and other decorative elements adorning (primarily) ecclesiastical architecture. Included are finely detailed drawings of grotesques from the New College Chapel at Oxford, wooden choir-stall finials and elbow rests, wooden door ornaments and stone stringcourses from Rouen Cathedral, stone spandrels, and ornamental wooden and stone cusps from a number of English churches and chapels, stone paterae from Winchester Cathedral, and much more. Decorative samples from secular buildings include renderings of stone capitals from Kenilworth Castle, stone bosses from Eltham Palace in Kent, and brass figures from the tomb of Earl of Warwick.Now regarded as one of the major sourcebooks of Gothic ornamentation, Pugin's illustrations will be welcomed by students of architectural history and design as an invaluable reference tool. Artists, illustrators, designers, and craftspeople will find these ready-to-use motifs an inspiring source of excellent designs for fabrics, wallpaper, tiles, and many other projects.Reprint of Gothic Ornaments Selected From Various Buildings in England and France, Preistly & Weale, London, 1828–1831.

A renowned 19th-century cultural historian and specialist on the Middle Ages, J. H. Hefner-Alteneck spent much of his life observing the influence of art on many aspects of human life, including weaponry. His illustrations for this handsome archive — drawn with incredible exactitude — depict a wide array of medieval weapons and armor dating from the early ninth century to the mid-1700s.Adapted primarily from decorative ornamentation on burial monuments and manuscripts, hundreds of finely executed images depict authentic shields, swords, crossbows, helmets, and highly ornate suits of body armor for knights and their steeds. Newly translated descriptive notes, extracted from the original German text, identify the subjects. First published more than 100 years ago, this meticulously rendered study remains an invaluable source of permission-free illustrations for artists and designers and an indispensable reference for scholars, collectors, and hobbyists.

Originally written as an aid for boys seeking information about prospective trades and occupations available to them as adults, this profusely illustrated and instructive text also stresses the importance, dignity, and techniques of labor. First published during the mid-Victorian era, it is today a charming window on the past, offering glimpses of basic crafts and industries of the period. In addition to detailing the work of tailors, shoemakers, bakers, plumbers, and housepainters, the text devotes full chapters to the work of bricklayers, cabinet- and gun-makers, sugar refiners, coppersmiths, calico printers, millers, and twenty-one other tradespeople. With facts and hints for modern craftworkers and fascinating background for anyone interested in bygone ways of life, this rare primer will be treasured not only by cultural historians and hobbyists, but will also delight collectors and Americana enthusiasts.

Mola is the Cuna Indian word for an intricate reverse-appliqué needlework technique unique to this unusual, isolated tribe inhabiting the San Blas islands off the Atlantic coast of Panama. Mola motifs and methods recall the body-painting practiced by the Cuna in past centuries; today Cuna women's blouses display the colorful patchwork designs rendered here in black and white from the original pieces. The 45 folk-style designs signify themes ancient and modern: pre-Christian crosses, mermaids, dancers, animals, birds, butterflies, fish and flowers, abstracts, and repeating mazes. The introduction includes photographs of the Cuna; captions identify the motifs and give Cuna names. Designers and needleworkers will find these royalty-free designs a source of inspiration, and colorists will enjoy adding their own sense of color and tone to the illustrations.

One of England's great poets and painters, William Blake (1757-1827) produced powerful, expressive works of art. For this unique stained glass colouring book, Marty Noble has adapted details from sixteen of the artist's finest paintings; among them illustrations from his own popular poems, his interpretations of Bible stories, and other literary works.Admirers of Blake and colouring book devotees will enjoy applying their own hues to sixteen unusual examples of Blake's art, or they can attempt to recreate Blake's hand-tinted watercolours. Placing the finished drawings in a brightly lit window or near another source of light will produce amazing, illuminated effects.

Over 40 beautiful renderings of Maya designs found on building facades, painted vases, designs drawn from architectural sculpture and other monumental carvings, murals, illustrated books (codexes), and miscellaneous artifacts. Brief introduction to Maya design, captions, identification of gods and legends. The ancient Maya civilization flourished for many centuries — from before the birth of Christ until the Spanish Conquest — in Guatemala, Honduras, and adjoining parts of Mexico. This handsome volume contains over 40 beautiful renderings of Maya designs found on building facades, lintels, and bas-relief plaques; on painted vases and other ceramics, ball-court markers, funerary vases, stelae (stone markers); designs drawn from architectural sculpture and other monumental carvings, murals, illustrated books (codexes), and miscellaneous artifacts.Wilson G. Turner, an artist/archaeologist engaged in research on Maya hieroglyphs, has carefully rendered each design from authentic pieces in museums, private collections, and at original sites in Guatemala and Mexico. He has also supplied a brief introduction to Maya design and captions for each plate, including the latest estimates of date, with identification of gods, legends, and other information.Artists, designers, and illustrators will find Maya Designs a rich source of graphic ideas and inspiration—useful for myriad projects. Colorists will enjoy bringing their own conceptions of color and tone to these ancient motifs.

The wonder and beauty of butterflies and moths — including their miraculous transformations — have fascinated nature enthusiasts for thousands of years. Rendered from an exquisitely rare nineteenth-century portfolio, the butterfly hues and shapes that have dazzled humankind for centuries are displayed here with magnificent precision. This illustrated archive bursts with sixty-one full-color plates of European butterflies and moths of every variety. Revel in the vast spectrum of intricate markings distinct to such species as the Swallowtail, Monarch, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, and many other fluttering favorites. Details of pupa, eyes, antennae, and the winged insects' favorite plant life also abound, providing enlightening glimpses into the workings of some of nature's most colorful and resplendent creatures. Pure delight for artists, designers, entomologists, and butterfly lovers everywhere!