The Art journal
The Art Journal is a London periodical published by George Virtue in 1849, aimed at the art trades and a general readership interested in the arts. Its pages carry engraved plates of decorative metalwork, jewellery, ceramics and ornament, with the text describing the exhibits of makers and manufacturers. For a designer, the plates show how Victorian craftsmen handled filigree, strapwork, mounted gems and classical vase forms, giving a dense reference for historical ornament.
