After processing the recent donation of gorgeous French fashion plates (which I wrote about here. I was hooked and had to see more. Fortunately, the Fox Historic Costume Collection does not disappoint! The collection also includes several boxes of fashion plates from Philadelphia’s own Godey’s Lady’s Book, America’s most popular and longest running women’s magazine, from 1830 to 1898. Named after its founder, Louis A. Godey (1804-1878), the magazine had reached a circulation of nearly 160,000 by 1860, contributing to Philadelphia’s leadership in printing and publishing, and fashion as well. The magazine included fiction, poetry, and short stories, sewing patterns, sheet music, and recipes, and – the most anticipated and popular feature – the fashion plate at the beginning of each issue.
Godey’s Lady’s Book, April 1860
Philadelphia Fashions, Godey’s Lady’s Book, January 1832
Like their French counterparts, Godey’s fashion plates became collector’s items as well, and were often torn from their original publication. When I opened one of the boxes with Curator Clare Sauro, we saw that each plate was “carefully preserved” in those magnetic sticky page photo albums. Obviously this had been done by somebody with very good intentions at the time – but we now know that the adhesive in these albums is highly acidic and very bad for preservation of papers and photographs. Please, don’t even use these at home! Luckily, the pages had completely dried and lost all their stickiness – a very good thing for easily removing the plates. We decided that my next project would be re-housing the plates to acid-free folders. When I had completed the task, the 380 plates ranging in date from 1831 to 1892 now fit comfortably in 2 boxes instead of 6.
No more magnetic sticky page photo albums!
If the plates look somewhat familiar, it is because American journals like Godey’s and Peterson’s Magazine, took their cues from French fashion magazines. Sometimes literally copying the fashions! While the French periodicals produced weekly publications, Godey’s was a monthly, and began issuing larger plates with more figures per issue. Of course, there were several months delay from when American women got the latest European fashions, and sometimes an entire year delay to match the seasons.
Can you spot the original French fashion (left) in the American version (right)?
What is wonderful about the Fox Historic Costume Collection is that it contains some complete full issues of Godey’s Lady’s Book as well. Here the fashion plate remains in its place, and can be examined alongside the literature and culture of its day. There are 54 issues from February 1860 to November 1865 – not quite a complete run of the Civil War years, but pretty close. The French fashion plates, the Godey’s plates, and the complete issues – together or separate – are fantastic resources with much potential for scholars and students.
Godey’s Lady’s Book, April 1861, complete issue with fold-out fashion plate in place!
For more on Godey’s Lady’s Book and the city’s contributions to the early fashion industry, visit The Library Company’s current exhibition “Fashioning Philadelphia – The Style of the City, 1720-1940”
For great resources and tips for preserving your family photographs and documents, see The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts.
Rebecca Oviedo
Graduate Intern
The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection 