This book presents more than 2,000 illustrations of shoes, hats, and fashion accessories reproduced directly from now rare periodicals and catalogs from the 1850s to 1940. It comprises an invaluable pictorial survey for the fashion historian, designer, and enthusiast, as well as a practical source of illustrations for permission-free use by artists and craftspeople.
The sources of these illustrations include major American, British, and European fashion periodicals of the time: Godey's Lady Book, Peterson's Magazine, Harper's Bazar, La Mode Illustrée, L'Art et la Mode, Der Bazar, The Delineator, and others, as well as such general interest periodicals as Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Harper's Weekly, The Youth's Companion, and Life. Many illustrations come from trade catalogs of such merchants as Montgomery Ward, Sears, Roebuck & Co., Jordan Marsh & Co., N. B. Holden Artistic Footwear, and a score of others.
Arranged chronologically, the plates present an overview of 90 years of fashion evolution of footwear, millinery, and such accessories as gloves, scarves, purses, handkerchiefs, and more.