Illustration: Javanese Ornament - Inspired by the way of working, from Lewis Foreman Day's The Application of Pattern, 1888.
Lewis Foreman Day's book The Application of Ornament was first published in 1888. Along with The Anatomy of Pattern and The Planning of Ornament, which were both first published in the previous year, they went to make up a triple titled work that dealt with the many aspects of decorative and ornamental pattern work.
In fact, it could be said that these three books stood within a framework of publications by Day that covered a three-decade career in writing and criticism, from 1880 to 1911. Most of the books generally dealt with the technical structure of decoration and ornament and its correct application. The three books: The Anatomy of Pattern, The Planning of Ornament and The Application of Ornament specifically dealt with the fundamental tenets of pattern decoration.
Illustration: Greek Lace - Analogous to filagree on straight lines, from Lewis Foreman Day's The Application of Ornament, 1888.
The illustrations in this article come from the last published title of the three The Application of Ornament. This volume dealt with the belief that Day and many like him held, that both ornament and decoration were subordinate to the practical application of the decorative process. Furthermore, he believed that historically this had always been the case and that by following the tradition of this ideal the best in pattern work could be achieved.
Interestingly Day published a number of illustrative plates that took in non-European cultures, along with the usual European. This reliance on the world of the decorative arts rather than that of the narrower limits of European culture, gave Day the opportunity to underline the emphasis he was placing on the fundamental laws that governed the decorative arts, maintaining that these laws were the foundation of all the decorative arts irrespective of where they originated.
Illustration: Arabian Patterns - Incised in soft plaster, from Lewis Foreman Day's The Application of Ornament, 1888.
Day himself was a wide-ranging designer who was involved throughout his career with the production of design and decoration within ceramics, stained glass, printed textiles, wallpaper, embroidery, furniture, carpets, jewellery and book design. He was well aware that the design process was by no means flawless and that there were many difficulties in arranging a smooth and productive relationship between the creative aspect of pattern design and that of commerce.
The series of books that Day published between 1887 and 1888 were meant as an extra support and guide for designers across various disciplines and mediums. They were to be taken as an extra tool in the vocabulary of both student and professional alike.
Illustration: Persian Faience - Direct potter's work, from Lewis Foreman day's The Application of Ornament, 1888.
Day set out The Application of Ornament into various chapters with relevant illustrations. He covered both the technical and creative aspects of decorative pattern work from the correct use of the repeat in pattern to the economic use of motif and all-over decoration. Today these may seem obvious instructions for a designer of pattern work, but in the 1880s, elements within the industrial decorative arts were still actively trying to produce large-scale decorative work using designer teams with no real design experience or qualifications. This profit over all considerations had served many companies well throughout much of the nineteenth century, but as that century started to draw to a close, many of the general public were beginning to make judgements and choices based on their own educational experience often through reading the many publications and magazine articles dealing with interior decoration.
Illustration: African Basket work - A typical example of plaiting, from Lewis Foreman Day's The Application of Ornament, 1888.
Although Day's triple titled work, along with his many other publications and articles that he produced, were by no means the only source material for designers and students, they were a popular guide into understanding the basic and fundamental aspects of good design and pattern work and were valued as such long past their original publication date.
For anyone interested The Application of Ornament can be read at the Internet Archive website. The book, along with other titles by Lewis Foreman Day can also be bought at Amazon and links to those books can be seen in the reference links section below.
Further reading links:
The anatomy of pattern by Lewis F. Day.
The planning of ornament by Lewis F. Day.
The application of ornament.
Lewis Foreman Day (1845-1910): Unity In Design and Industry
Nature in Ornament by Lewis F. Day.
Windows a book about stained & painted glass by Lewis F. Day.
Moot Points: Friendly Disputes On Art & Industry Between Walter Crane & Lewis F. Day
Art in needlework; a book about embroidery. by Lewis F. Day and
Alphabets old & new
Nature in Ornament (1892 )
Ornament & Its Application: A Book for Students, Treating in a Practical Way of the Relation of Design to Material, Tools and Methods of Work
