Figure 1. Christopher Dresser, nature’s diaper patterns, from “Botany as Adapted to the Arts and Art-Manufacture” (1857-1858).

Figure 1. Christopher Dresser, nature’s diaper patterns, from “Botany as Adapted to the Arts and Art-Manufacture” (1857-1858). Public domain.

Figure 1. Christopher Dresser, nature’s diaper patterns, from “Botany as Adapted to the Arts and Art-Manufacture” (1857-1858). Public domain. Figure 1. Christopher Dresser, nature’s diaper patterns, from “Botany as Adapted to the Arts and Art-Manufacture” (1857-1858). Public domain. As David Brett points out, these images represent “the first application of microscopic drawing to design” (“Design Reform and the Laws of Nature” 37).

Figure 4. Decorative motif showing the principle of alternation. Figure 6. Ornamental motifs that evoke the “mental conception” of a leaf-bud.