A New Book of Ornaments
April 23, 1758
Classification
Books|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932
Accession Number
32.61
Art Historical Context
Thomas Johnson’s *A New Book of Ornaments*, dated April 23, 1758, is a fine example of the illustrated pattern that flourished in eighteenth-century Britain. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, the volume belongs to the classification “Books | Ornament & Architecture,” indicating its purpose as a practical guide for craftsmen, cabinetmakers, and architects seeking elegant decorative motifs. Such publications played a vital role in disseminating design ideas across workshops and households during the Rococo period. By offering carefully engraved plates...