In the nineteenth century, a series of colorful and beautifully designed books containing patterns were produced that aspired to be encyclopedic by examining ornament from a variety of cultures and historic periods. Owen Jones's 1856 book, The Grammar of Ornament, was the first to systematically analyze ornamental art from different eras. Jones, a noted British designer and architect, created the grammar to educate designers. His book stressed the need for a vigorous study of historic styles in preparation for an ornamental language suitable to the new industrial age. Jones and his assistants developed all the designs for the book by drawing on patterns from all over the world, including non-Western cultures. In addition to providing unprecedented information, the book is clearly one of the nineteenth century's great monuments of chromolithographic printing.
(Van Dyk, Stephen. Rare Books. London ; New York : Scala Publishers in association with Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Smithsonian Institution, 2001.)