French fashion plate collection

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.