The Book of Signs (Dover Pictorial Archive)

Adding this to my library collection. Cool book for those who like to read about the meaning of signs.

There are plenty of symbols included, they are organized according to shape and complexity, and there are meanings attached. But the meanings are the author's alone, have little relevance to other sources and there are no sources cited - these are the author's own ideas and don't have much relevance outside. The cons didn't matter much to me since I wanted it for design ideas, but anyone interested in the traditional meaning of symbols should look elsewhere.

Love all Dover Books, they're such a great purveyor of art and graphical curiosity!

It's pretty to look at, but very short, very basic, and very limited with very few signs/symbols and very little information on any of them. This is a book I've browsed through a few times and did enjoy but didn't learn too much from. It's a book that I'd like to have on my shelf as a quick yet pretty obscure reference if I had found it for real cheap at a thrift store or rummage sale, in which case it would be a treasure and a really cool find. At this price and brand new, it's a waste of my money.

Rudolf Koch’s Book of Signs is a wonderful collection of medieval, astrological, chemical and other symbols, all drawn (written) by Koch with edged pen. This makes them easily incorporated into calligraphic works. Koch was an extremely important calligrapher, type designer, and Offenbach Workshop (liturgical art) coordinator in the late 19th into early 20th centuries. This is an extremely important collection of 350 of his symbols and Dover should be thanked for publishing it.

Neil pearl is a great author

"The Book of Signs" is an illustration-rich collection of Byzantine, medieval and related European symbols. The Dover Publications edition is a clean softcover edition of the work which is printed in the author Rudolf Koch's "magere deutsche" typeface (a Gothic / old-style German typeface similar to those used in Germany in the 19th century and earlier). Useful to the medievalist, the occultist as well as the fantasy roleplayer, the collection includes nearly 500 different symbols collected in 14 chapters. Symbols include Christian, astrological, botanical, and chemical ones from the Byzantine and European traditions; personal and family signs such as early monograms, stonemason's signs and armorial signs; and the Norse runes. The signs themselves are woodcuts, which combined with the older style Germanic typeface give the book a distinctive look. Chapters include a short introduction and most signs include a short description. The book's strength lies in its wide range of medieval symbols and its evocative visual look (woodcut symbols and German typeface). As a research tool it has limited utility, but for its graphic appearance it is a good choice for the layman. On a side note for AD&D gamers and World of Greyhawk enthusiasts, this work was used as inspiration by Gary Gygax for many of the symbols presented in the World of Greyhawk folio and 1983 boxed set.

This completely changed how I view symbols and logos. Just knowing the little meanings is super handy. I run a D&D game and will be using what I learned here to give ton's of people their own marks.

Pour être passionnée de calligraphie, l'histoire des signes est importante. Voilà,pourquoi je l'ai commandé. Il réponds à ce que j'en attendais! Merci.

buena descripción histórica

I have recently become interested with symbols and mysticism. Although I don’t really know where to start, I have found this book pointing me in the right direction. Grammar and spelling needs improvement, but the content is good. I felt it could go into more detail, but that’s part of the journey to find out more for myself. A nice way as means of introduction.

I’ve purchased symbols books that authors simply made up their own. Certainly, people are lowed to do so, I’m simply more interested in authentic current and historical symbology. This book has descriptions/definitions/explanations for many of the symbols in this small book. It is a small book, but it is packed full. The symbols appear to be hand-drawn and the descriptions are presented in a gothic-ish calligraphy. This can make it challenging for some to read, but it lends an air of scholar.y authenticity to the book. Lovely little book.

libro molto interessante