Book cover with overall pattern of orange and blue dots
19th century
Medium
Relief print (wood or metal)
Dimensions
Sheet: 6 5/8 × 8 1/16 in. (16.8 × 20.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1940
Accession Number
40.21.81
Art Historical Context
This charming 19th-century book cover, created anonymously through relief printing on wood or metal, showcases a vibrant all-over pattern of orange and dots. Measuring just 6 5/8 × 8 1/16 inches, its compact size perfectly suited the era's bound volumes, transforming everyday books into visually appealing objects. Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in1940 via the Harris Dick Fund, it now resides in the Drawings and Prints department, highlighting the museum's commitment to preserving ephemeral printed ephemera. Relief printing, a technique where ink adheres to raised surfaces carved f...
About the Artist
Anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...