Owen Jones was born in London, England on 15 February 1809. From 1825 to c.1829 he was articled to the architect Lewis Vulliamy (1791–1871) and from 1829 began studying architecture at the Royal Academy Schools in London. Although he usually identified himself as an architect it was as an ornamental designer that Jones is better known.
Notable among his architectural projects was St James's Hall, between Regent Street and Piccadilly in London (completed in 1858) which was for many years the principal venue for concerts in London;
His principal commissions as a designer of interiors included the polychromatic decoration of the interior of the 1851 Great Exhibition building; the layout and decoration of the Crystal Palace following its relocation to the London suburb of Sydenham (completed in 1854 and subsequently destroyed by fire); the interior of the Crystal Palace Bazaar on Oxford Street, London (completed in 1858 and demolished in 1905); and F. & C. Osler's glassware showroom on Oxford Street, London (completed in 1859).
His work as a decorative designer included tiles for Blashfield, Minton, and Maw; wallpapers for Townsend & Parker and Jeffrey & Co.; woven textiles for Warner and Sillet & Co.; the backs of playing cards for Thomas De La Rue and Lawrence & Cohen; silks for Benjamin Warner; packaging and a range of paper products for De La Rue; as well as metalwork; mosaics; and furniture (examples of which are in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London). However, it is the as the compiler and author of a number of visual reference books, particularly Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra (1842-45), one of the most influential publications on Islamic architecture, and The Grammar of Ornament in which he expounded his theories on colour and ornamentation, that he is best known. The Grammar of Ornament is considered a design classic and has remained in print since its first publication in 1856
Jones was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects' Gold Medal in 1857 and medals at the international exhibitions in Paris in 1867 and Vienna in 1873. He died in London, on 19 April 1874
See: Owen Jones. V&A Collections - 2,208 objects (2022) [link below]
Cooper, Michael and Lodge, Ken. 'Owen Jones (1809-1874): Architect, Decorative Artist & Designer of Playing Cards'. The Playing Card', Journal of The International Playing Card Society, vol.34, no.3, January-March 2006, pp.181-192
Darby, Michael. Owen Jones and the Eastern Ideal. Ph.D. thesis, University of Reading, 1974
Darby, Michael and van Zanten, David. ‘Owen Jones's iron buildings of the 1850s’. Architectura [Munich]. vol. 4, 1974, pp. 53-75
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Ferry, Kathryn. ‘Printing the Alhambra: Owen Jones and Chromolithography’. Architectural History vol. 46, 2003, pp. 175-188
Flores, Carol A Hrvol. ‘Engaging the mind's eye : the use of inscriptions in the architecture of Owen Jones and A.W.N. Pugin’. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians vol. 60.2001, pp. 158-179
Jesperson, John Kresten. ‘Originality and Jones' "The Grammar of Ornament" of 1856’. Journal of Design History vol. 21, no. 2, Summer, 2008, pp. 143-153
Lanford, Catherine. ‘Imperialism and the Parlor: Owen Jones's "The Grammar of Ornament"’. The Wordsworth Circle vol. 32, no. 1, Winter 2001 pp.38-43
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‘Obituary’. Architect 25 April 1874 pp. 235-236
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 32, 9 May 1874 pp. 383-385
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‘Obituary’. Royal Institute of British Architects Proceedings 1873-74 p. 37
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‘Owen Jones’. Architect vol. 12, 1874 p. 159
‘Owen Jones’. The Newsletter of The English Playing Card Society no.10, November 1985, pp.8-9
Schoeser, Mary. Owen Jones silks. [Braintree?]: Warner Fabrics, 1987