See more objects with the tag decoration, ornament, science, education, book, print.

Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1907

  • Work on this object began.

1917

  • Work on this object ended.

1970

2019

2025

  • You found it!

The Use Of The Plant In Decorative Design, Book

This is a The Use of the Plant in Decorative Design.

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Smithsonian Libraries and Archives as part of Botanical Expressions.

It is dated ca. 1912. Its medium is lithograph on paper. It is a part of the department.

Maud Lawrence and Caroline Sheldon, the authors of The Use of the Plant in Decorative Design, were art teachers based in the Midwest region of the United States. Their book was written for grade school
and high school students, providing exercises in creating patterns from nature studies with simple stencils.

It is credited Smithsonian Libraries, NK1560 .L3X 1912.

  • Model, Ricinus Communis
  • wood, papier-mâché, cardboard, plaster, reed pith, metal, string, feathers,....
  • Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
  • 22.2018.1

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

  • Cabinet
  • mahogany (base and cabinet), birch (interior shelves), lithography on paper.
  • Private Collection, San Francisco.
  • 12.2019.1

Its dimensions are

H x W (book open): 25.4 × 38.1 cm (10 × 15 in.)

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Botanical Expressions.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318798072/ |title=The Use Of The Plant In Decorative Design, Book |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=7 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>