Principles of Decorative Design
Hardcover quarto, 167pp + (4) ads. Stated third edition, no date stated but given in OCLC as 1873. PO stamp to half title and bookseller's labels to front pastedown, else unmarked. In Good condition with slight bubbling to cloth, rubbing and fraying to extremities, intermittent soil and foxing, including discoloration to the second color plate. General wear from handling and use but still a nice copy, sturdy and unmarked.
Dresser is considered Britain's first industrial designer, a champion of aestheticism and creator of stunnningly modern designs. His embrace of industrial processes allowed him to design for a growing market of independent customers decorating domestic spaces. 'Principles of Decorative Design' outlines fundamentals for people with aspirations in the decorative and industrial arts who had no formal training, and to "lead to the development of the art-germs which doubtless lie dormant in other working men."
"Christopher Dresser (1834–1904) is one of the most influential British designers of all time and is widely regarded as Britain’s first independent industrial designer. More than a century later, his works still look remarkably modern. Like his contemporary William Morris, Dresser advocated for an honesty of materials, but unlike Morris he fully embraced industrial techniques, designing for the growing consumer market." (Norton)