The Book of Signs - (Dover Pictorial Archive) by Rudolf Koch (Paperback)

About the Book

Famed German type designer renders 493 classified and documented illustrations divided into 14 categories, including general signs, Christian signs, astronomical signs, the four elements, house and holding marks, runes, and more.

Book Synopsis

This unusual collection of primitive and medieval symbols provides one of the most fertile single sources of decorative ideas available today. It is also a graphic history of the development of written communication and offers a singular insight into the psychology of the primitive mind.
The Book of Signs contains 493 classified and documented illustrations, collected, drawn, and explained by the celebrated typographer Rudolf Koch. Divided into 14 different categories, it includes General Signs, The Cross, Monogram of Christ, Other Christian Signs, Monograms of Medieval Church and State Leaders, Stone Masons' Signs, The Four Elements, Astronomical Signs, Astrological Signs, Botanical Signs, Chemical Signs, House and Holding Marks, Miscellany, and Runes.
"Provides the contemporary artist with a rich design vocabulary on which to improvise."--Art in Focus.
"An inspiration to graphic artists everywhere."--Graphis.
"An artistic and typographical achievement of considerable beauty and worth."--Psychiatric Quarterly.

From the Back Cover

This unusual collection of primitive and medieval symbols provides one of the most fertile single sources of decorative ideas available today. It is also a graphic history of the development of written communication and offers a singular insight into the psychology of the primitive mind.
The Book of Signs contains 493 classified and documented illustrations, collected, drawn, and explained by the celebrated typographer Rudolf Koch. Divided into 14 different categories, it includes General Signs, The Cross, Monogram of Christ, Other Christian Signs, Monograms of Medieval Church and State Leaders, Stone Masons' Signs, The Four Elements, Astronomical Signs, Astrological Signs, Botanical Signs, Chemical Signs, House and Holding Marks, Miscellany, and Runes.
"Provides the contemporary artist with a rich design vocabulary on which to improvise."--Art in Focus.
"An inspiration to graphic artists everywhere."--Graphis.
"An artistic and typographical achievement of considerable beauty and worth."--Psychiatric Quarterly.
Unabridged republication of the English translation originally published by the First Edition Club of London, 1930.