Ornamental Textile Fabrics of All Ages and Nations

Ornamental Textile Fabrics of All Ages and Nations: A Practical Collection of Specimens features specimens from Auguste Dupont-Auberville's collection of ornamental textile designs. The samples, reproduced as simple chromolithographs, serve as a showcase of European, Eastern, and Egyptian design elements used in textile production throughout history. Published in 1877 amid the Aesthetic Movement, on the heels of the burgeoning Arts and Crafts Movement, and at a time when great craftsmanship of the past was being revived as art for art’s sake; this sample book is intended to be a practical reference for textile manufacturers, artists, and designers. Dupont-Auberville hoped his book would find a wider audience. As he wrote in the book's Introduction, he considered it "[our] paramount duty…to leave nothing undone to develop a genuine artistic taste amongst the people." The now-iconic book has become a standard design reference source. We feature it in its gilded glory as part of the Smithsonian Libraries’ 50th (Golden) Anniversary celebration.