Sometimes the artworks created by students provide hints as to the library materials they used. Owen Jones's (1809-1874) Grammar of Ornament had a strong influence on many students' work. The Grammar of Ornament, published in 1856, depicts ornament from a variety of periods and places around the world, and encourages artists to produce modern ornament based on the design principles demonstrated in these examples.

This publication influenced student work over many years. Sylvia Shaw Judson's sketchbook contains notes on Egyptian ornament and relief; she notes that Egyptian ornament used reds and blues, as well as bands of design in turquoise blue. Her sketches at the top of the page are similar to the images of Etruscan ornament in the Grammar of Ornament. It is not clear exactly when these notes were recorded, but another page in the sketchbook is dated 1912.

Theodore Roszak, a student at the School of the Art Institute in the 1920s, created this project on Egyptian art and ornament for his Survey of Art class; the column shows the influence of the Grammar of Ornament.

Ellis A. Davidson's Elements of Building Construction was another early addition to the library collections, and is listed in the 1885 Catalogue of the School Library. Ben Lubschez's Over the Drawing Board joined the collections later; an autographed letter from the author is tipped in to this copy, which was once owned by the Chicago architect Irving Pond.

The influence of drafting and drawing manuals such as these can be seen in the school assignments completed by Thomas R. Burleigh, who attended IIT as both an undergraduate and graduate student in the 1940s, studying under Mies van der Rohe, and went on to work for Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill.

1. Jones, Owen. The Grammar of Ornament. London: B. Quaritch, 1868.
2. Judson, Sylvia Shaw. Sylvia Shaw Judson Collection. Series 6, Box 3, [Sketchbook 1] “Sylvia Shaw Modelling Class.” Ryerson & Burnham Archives.
3. Roszak, Theodore. “Relief.“ Survey of Art. n.p. Art Institute of Chicago Archives.
4. Burleigh, Thomas R. Thomas R. Burleigh Collection. Oversize Portfolio 1.5. “Brick House Elevations.” Ryerson & Burnham Archives.
5. Davidson, Ellis A. The Elements of Building Construction and Architectural Drawing. New York: Cassell, Petter, and Galpin, 1869.
6. Lubschez, Ben Jehudah. Over the Drawing Board: A Draftsmen's Handbook. Washington, D.C. : The Journal of the American Institute of Architects, 1918.