The theory of decorative art: an anthology of European & American writings, 1750-1940

I. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE DECORATIVE ARTS: The Uses of Beauty: From "Preliminary Discourse to the 'Encyclopedia'" (1751) / Jean Le Rond d'Alembert

From "Preliminary Ideas on the Theory of Ornament" (1785) / Karl Philipp Moritz

"On Metal-Work" (1841) / A. Welby Pugin

"The Lamp of Beauty" (1849) [and] "Modern Manufacture and Design" (1859) / John Ruskin

"The Arts and Crafts of To-day" (1889) / William Morris

"Where are we Going?" (1897-98) / Samuel Bing

"Manifesto of the Staatliche Bauhaus in Weimar" (1919) / Walter Gropius

"Type-Needs: Type-Furniture" (1925) / Le Corbusier

The Theory of Function: From "Concerning the Formal Principles of Ornament and its Significance as Artistic Symbol" (1856) / Gottfried Semper

From "A Historical Grammer of the Visual Arts (1897-99) / Alois Riegl

"Adornment" (1908) / George Simmel

"On the Use of the Knife at Table" and "On the Use of the Fork at Table" (1939) / Norbert Elias

II. MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES OF THE DECORATIVE ARTS: The Artist-Designer and The Machine: "Art" (1751) / Denis Diderot

"Art and Handicraft" (1797) / Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"On Metal-work " (1841) / A. Welby Pugin

"The Lamp of Truth" and "The Lamp of Life" (1849) / John Ruskin

"Science, Art, and Industry" (1852) / Gottfried Semper

"The Revival of Handicraft" (1888) / William Morris

"Hand Work

Machine Work" (1899) / Adolf von Hildebrand

"The Importance of the Applied Arts, and their Relation to Common Life" (1892) / Walter Crane.

"The Decorative Arts and the Machine" (1895) / P. Rioux de Maillou "Observations Toward a Synthesis of Art" (1895) / Henry van de Velde

"The Art and Craft of the Machine" (1901) / Frank Lloyd Wright

"The Decorative Art of Today" (1925) / Le Corbusier

The Theory of Technique: From "Style in the Technical and Tectonic Arts" (1860) / Gottfried Semper

From "Problems of Style" (1893) / Alois Riegl

"Art and Craft" (1938) / R.G. Collingwood. III. ORNAMENT AND STYLE IN THE DECORATIVE ARTS: Ornament and its Principles: From "Reflections on the Origin, Growth, and Decline of Decoration in the Fine Arts" (1759) / Friedrich August Krubsacius

From "Preliminary Ideas on the Theory of Ornament" (1793) / Karl Philipp Moritz

"The Lamp of Sacrifice" and "The Lamp of Beauty" (1829) / John Ruskin.

"General Principles in the Arrangement of Form and Colour in Architecture and the Decorative Arts" (1856) / Owen Jones

"Decorative Art and Its Dogmas" (1880) / Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer

"Ornament in Architecture" (1892) / Louis Sullivan

"Ornament and Crime" (1910) / Adolf Loos

"Ornament" (1912) / Karl Grosz

The Theory of Style: "Ornament of Savage Tribes" and "Moresque Ornament" (1856) / Owen Jones

"The Textile Art" (1860) / Gottfried Semper

From "Lectures on Architecture" (1872) / Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc

From "Prolegomena to a Psychology of Architecture" (1886) / Heinrich Wolfflin

"The Geometric Style" (1893) / Alois Riegl

"Forms in the Realm of Space" (1934) / Henri Focillon.