The Book of Signs

by Rudolf Koch

Book Overview

This unusual collection of primitive and medieval symbols provides one of the most fertile single sources of decorative ideas available today. It is also a graphic history of the development of written communication and offers a singular insight into the psychology of the primitive mind.
The Book of Signs contains 493 classified and documented illustrations, collected, drawn, and explained by the celebrated typographer Rudolf Koch. Divided...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486201627
• ISBN13: 9780486201627
• Release Date: June 1955
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Heavily Illustrated

This is a well illustrated book on symbols. I would not call it an essential book for research purposes but it is a nice addition to the library. Some of the symbology is redundant (the furca is illustrated at least 3 times within the book) and I don't find all the explanations agreeable with other resources.

A Graphic Historical Reference Book

Rudolph Kock, graphic designer, typesetter and bookbinder put together these some 400+ signs along with a good historical capsule along each symbol. I found it to be useful when looking up a symbol and to understand some aspect of the sign, although not entirely in full, but a brief understanding of its roots. While not every sign of occultism is assimulated in this book, there is still plenty for one to be satisfied with. Most of the signs are from Early Christian traditions and those that have stemmed from that religion. Orginally these designs were woodcuts by Frik Kredel, Offenbach and Main. The font used to print in the book was created by Koch himself known as magere deutsche type. Originally published in 1930, this Dover edition is worth every penny, for the artist and the occultist.

A Pictoral Review of Signs

This is, as its title suggests, an expansive collection of pictoral signs primarily from European sources. The signs are beautifully reproduced, but if you are looking for comprehensive genealogies of the signifiers, you should probably look elsewhere. This book has 493 well-reproduced signs, but their histories are minimally documented without any source/ primary documentation of their origins. The signs are described in short, declarative sentences which readers curious about the meaning of the signs might find discomforting. The research here is not without merit or credibility, but the book is for readers interested in signs for their visual grandeur rather than their significance. An interesting and affordable introduction to signs.