Thursday, November 19, 2009

An Ad from an Antique Bookdealer

     Fashion: A volume containing hand colored fashion plates from four different French fashion magazines, 125 plates, 122 of which are hand colored. Paris, n.d. (ca. 1864-1865, some plates dated). The volume contains 125 plates, 52 from Les Modes Parisiennes, 7 from Le Follet, 47 from Petit Courrier des Dames and 19 from Journal des Demoiselles. The plates are by such fashion illustrators as Compte Calix, Carrachi, Emile Preval and Berlier. Bound in cloth, 8 x 10 1/2 inches, spine faded and slightly worn, plates fine, except a few with paper clip rust marks at top margins, overall very good.     $1,850.00
    This was how the early fashion world got started. These would reach New York and Boston and the rich ladies would order their fashion from Paris. The dress makers would also create doll size versions to ship to America for potential dealers and customers. Some of the finer antique dolls are actually fashion dolls, never intended for children. The east coast folk weren't to out done and began to create their own publications and by the 1870s the big fashion publishers had sweat shops set up for the immigrant Irish girls to sit and hand color fashion plates for the magazines. There could be a room with 50 girls, each with their particular color and the black and white printed illustrations would be passed back and forth until they were full color. Some of these magazines had circulations in the thousands.
    Goes to show how some things don't really change, just the color of 'em

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