EXAMPLE 122
Appropriate ornamentation applied to the modern booklet. Page by the Munder-Thomsen Company, Baltimore, Md.
Sometimes ornaments in the corners of a plain rule border (Example [116]) are sufficient decoration. These effects may have been suggested by the corner bolts with which brass plates are fastened to walls.
In the booklet decoration (Example [122]) the artist has taken his motive from the word “Washington” making the capitol dome and its supports the central figure in the design, which is Colonial in character. Drawing a line down thru the center of the design it will be found that with a few minor exceptions the right half is a duplicate in reverse of the left half. The effect is frequently found in decorative work, as it gives balance and differentiates between illustration and decoration. An illustrative design, showing an actual scene, would not be effective.
EXAMPLE 123
Effect of alternating colors, for covers and end-leaves of booklets and catalogs
Wall paper and linoleum designs are made in patterns that repeat at intervals and for this reason answer the purpose of decoration.
Example [119] presents a program page, which, while attractive, has but one ornament, an ecclesiastic design. The arrangement of bands above and below the main display assists in forming a decorative effect.
Type decoration in use today shows a preference for forms from Italian sources. Several years ago the Colonial spirit had influenced a preference for Gothic-English forms. The work of Goudy, Cleland and others has had a part in developing taste for the Italian.
In closing this chapter it may be well again to warn the printer not to over-ornament. The relation of ornament to typography is well covered in the caution of an experienced architect to a novice: “Ornament construction, but do not construct ornament.”