diff --git a/docs/src/man/options.md b/docs/src/man/options.md
index 882e883d..79d983a3 100644
--- a/docs/src/man/options.md
+++ b/docs/src/man/options.md
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ Values should be valid Julia expressions, as they are evaluated, so you cannot u
 
 In addition to replacing underscores in keys, the following transformations of values are done when the options are written in `.tex` style:
 
-* A list as a value is written as "comma joined" e.g. `[1, 2, 3] -> "1, 2, 3"`.
+* A list as a value is written as “comma joined” e.g. `[1, 2, 3] -> "1, 2, 3"`.
 
 * A tuple as a value is written with braces delimiting the elements e.g. `(60, 30) -> {60}{30}`
 
@@ -142,21 +142,17 @@ julia> print_tex(p)
     ;
 ```
 
-You can also merge in options that have been created separately, using `merge!`:
+## Working with options
 
-```jldoctest
-julia> a = Axis();
+Collections of options are first-class objects: they can be used independently of `Plot`, `Axis`, and similar, copied, modified, and merged.
 
-julia> @pgf opts = {xmin = 0, ymax = 1, ybar};
+This allows a disciplined approach to working with complex plots: for example, you can create a set of default options for some purpose (eg plots in a research paper, with a style imposed by a journal), and then modify this as needed for individual plots. It is then easy to apply, for example, a “theme” to an axis where the theme is a set of options already saved.
 
-julia> merge!(a, opts);
+Another use case is creating orthogonal sets of options, eg one for axis annotations and another one for legends, and merging these as necessary.
 
-julia> print_tex(a)
-\begin{axis}[xmin={0}, ymax={1}, ybar]
-\end{axis}
-```
+### Extending and combining options
 
-An alternative to using `merge!` is using  `...` to splice an option into another one, e.g.
+Use  `...` to splice an option into another one, e.g.
 
 ```jldoctest
 julia> theme = @pgf {xmajorgrids, ymajorgrids};
@@ -168,13 +164,66 @@ julia> a = Axis(
 julia> print_tex(a)
 \begin{axis}[xmajorgrids, ymajorgrids, title={Foo}]
 \end{axis}
+
+julia> print_tex(theme) # original is not modified
+[xmajorgrids, ymajorgrids]
+```
+
+You can also `merge` sets of options:
+```jldoctest
+julia> O1 = @pgf { color = "red" };
+
+julia> O2 = @pgf { dashed };
+
+julia> O3 = @pgf { no_marks };
+
+julia> print_tex(Plot(merge(O1, O2, O3), Table(1:2, 1:2)))
+\addplot[color={red}, dashed, no marks]
+    table[row sep={\\}]
+    {
+        \\
+        1  1  \\
+        2  2  \\
+    }
+    ;
 ```
+Again, the value of original options is unchanged above.
+
+
+### Modifying options
+
+You can modify existing options with `push!`, `append!`, and `merge!`. The first two expect pairs of a string and a value (may be `nothing` for options like `"red"`), and are mostly useful when you are generating options using a function. `merge!` of course accepts options.
 
-It is then easy to apply, for example, a “theme” to an axis where the theme is a set of options already saved.
+```jldoctest
+julia> opt = @pgf {};
+
+julia> push!(opt, :color => "red", :mark => "x");
+
+julia> append!(opt, [:style => "thick", :mark_options => @pgf { scale = 0.4 }]);
+
+julia> merge!(opt, @pgf { "error bars/y dir=both", "error bars/y explicit" });
+
+julia> print_tex(opt)
+[color={red}, mark={x}, style={thick}, mark options={scale={0.4}}, error bars/y dir=both, error bars/y explicit]
+```
+
+All containers with options also support using `merge!` directly.
+
+```jldoctest
+julia> a = Axis();
+
+julia> @pgf opts = {xmin = 0, ymax = 1, ybar};
+
+julia> merge!(a, opts);
+
+julia> print_tex(a)
+\begin{axis}[xmin={0}, ymax={1}, ybar]
+\end{axis}
+```
 
 ## Empty options
 
-Empty options are not printed by default, but printing `[]` can be useful in some cases, eg when combined with global settings `\pgfplotsset{every axis plot/.append style={...}}` in LaTeX code. In order to force printing empty options, it is recommended to use `{}` in expressions like
+Empty options are not emitted by default, but using in LaTeX code `[]` can be useful in some cases, eg when combined with global settings `\pgfplotsset{every axis plot/.append style={...}}`. In order to force printing empty options, it is recommended to use `{}` in expressions like
 
 ```julia
 @pgf Plot({}, ...)
diff --git a/src/options.jl b/src/options.jl
index 81544466..f7a5317f 100644
--- a/src/options.jl
+++ b/src/options.jl
@@ -56,8 +56,11 @@ Base.haskey(o::Options, args...; kwargs...) = haskey(o.dict, args...; kwargs...)
 
 Base.copy(options::Options) = deepcopy(options)
 
-Base.merge(a::Options, b::Options) =
-    Options(merge(a.dict, b.dict), a.print_empty || b.print_empty)
+function Base.merge(options::Options, others::Options...)
+    args = (options, others...)
+    Options(mapreduce(opts -> opts.dict, merge, args),
+            mapreduce(opts -> opts.print_empty, |, args))
+end
 
 function prockey(key)
     if isa(key, Symbol) || isa(key, String)
@@ -143,11 +146,13 @@ Base.delete!(o::OptionType, args...; kwargs...) = (delete!(o.options, args...; k
 
 Base.copy(a::OptionType) = deepcopy(a)
 
-function Base.merge!(a::OptionType, options::Options)
-    for (k, v) in options.dict
-        a[k] = v
+function Base.merge!(options::Union{Options,OptionType}, others::Options...)
+    for other in others
+        for (k, v) in other.dict
+            options[k] = v
+        end
     end
-    return a
+    options
 end
 
 """
diff --git a/test/test_options.jl b/test/test_options.jl
index 95334929..e9a1b345 100644
--- a/test/test_options.jl
+++ b/test/test_options.jl
@@ -32,6 +32,28 @@ end
         "\\addplot[]\ntable[row sep={\\\\}]\n{\nx \\\\\n1 \\\\\n2 \\\\\n3 \\\\\n}\n;" # note []
 end
 
+@testset "operations on options" begin
+    O1 = @pgf { a = 1 }
+
+    # copy
+    O2 = copy(O1)
+    @test O1 ≅ O2
+
+    # merge
+    @test merge(O1, @pgf { b = 2 }) ≅ @pgf { a = 1, b = 2 }
+    O3 = @pgf { a = 1, b = 2, c = 3 }
+    @test merge(O1, @pgf({ b = 2 }), @pgf({ c = 3 })) ≅ O3
+
+    # merge!
+    @test merge!(O1, @pgf({ b = 2 }), @pgf({ c = 3 })) ≡ O1
+    @test O1 ≅ O3
+
+    # merge! for OptionType
+    P = Plot(O2, Table([1], [1])); # don't print, nonsensical
+    @test merge!(P, @pgf({ b = 2 }), @pgf({ c = 3 })) ≡ P
+    @test P.options ≅ O3
+end
+  
 @testset "options push! and append!" begin
     opt1 = "color" => "red"
     opt2 = "dashed"