An Anthology Of Decorated Papers

An Anthology Of Decorated Papers: A Sourcebook For Designers, by PJM Marks, includes more than 200 examples of marbled, pasted, brocaded, block-printed, and lithographed sheets of ornamental paper. Most examples are taken from the Olga Hirsch collection at the British Library in London, though the book's historical introduction also includes illustrations from other sources.

Each decorating technique has its own chapter, and the decorations are stunningly reproduced in colour, with many full-page, full-bleed images. Japanese block-printing (chiyogami) and stencilling (katagami and katazome) are included, alongside European, Chinese, and American papers. The book itself is beautifully designed, with marbled boards and a decorated, multi-layered paper jacket. (Graphic Design Before Graphic Designers, also published by Thames & Hudson, has a similar jacket and also includes examples of printed ephemera.)

Marbling (Phoebe Jane Easton) was the first comprehensive study of marbled paper. Washi includes reproductions of decorated Japanese paper. The Papered Wall (Lesley Hoskins) and 20th Century Pattern Design discuss wallpaper patterns. Ornament (Stuart Durant) is a history of modern decoration. The classic studies of decorative motifs are The Grammar Of Ornament (Owen Jones) and L'Ornement Polychrome (Auguste Racinet; reprinted as The World Of Ornament).