French fashion plate collection, 1807-1897, bulk 1832-1870

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Summary

Abstract:
This collection contains approximately 2,400 fashion plates from primarily French periodicals dating from 1807-1897 that depict contemporary fashions for women, men, and children, with the majority focused on women's fashions.
Extent:
6 Linear Feet (24 boxes)
Language:
Materials in French and English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. French fashion plate collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of approximately 2,400 printed illustrations of fashion trends dating from 1807 to 1897, with the majority of items spanning from 1832 to 1870. The images, known as "fashion plates," were often published in fashion and women's magazines or in bound volumes and primarily depict women modeling current dress styles, although some also contain children's and men's clothing. The majority of the collection is French and most of the tailors, seamstresses, fashion designers, artists, and printers credited on the plates were located in Paris, France.

Periodicals commonly represented in the collection include Le Bon Ton, Le Boudoir, Le Cabinet de Lecture, Le Caprice, Costume Parisiens, Le Follet Courier des Salons, Gazette des Salons, L'Illustrateur des Dames, Journal des Demoiselles, Journal des Femmes, Journal des Jeunes Personnes, Journal des Modes, La Lanterne Magique, Le Magasin des Familles, La Mode, La Mode des Demoiselles, La Mode Illustrée, Modes de Paris, Paris Elegant, Revue de la Mode, La Sylphide, Le Voleur,and several other publications. The English closely followed French fashions during this time period, and the collection also includes a few British plates. One example is an 1861 plate from the London periodical The Queen (Box 18).

The materials in this collection consist predominantly of hand-colored engravings that range in size from approximately 6" x 9" to 10" x 14". Most of the plates are mounted individually on larger loose album pages with mounting corners, tape, and/or adhesive, however a small number of additional unmounted plates are interspersed throughout.

Acquisition information:
No acquisition information is currently available for this collection. The majority of the fashion plates are mounted on album pages, but a small number of unmounted plates in Boxes 13-17 may have been added from a separate source. Prior references to this collection in Huntington Library shelf lists refer to it as "costume prints."
Processing information:

Processed by Charla DelaCuadra in 2013. Finding aid last updated on November 2014. In September 2024, Renée Tabizón and Chelsea Trinh updated the collection's linear feet and finding aid.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged chronologically by year, and grouped loosely by publication within each year.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. French fashion plate collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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