Hand Coloured Engraving
This hand coloured engraving (click) is from a William IV th fashion periodical called La Belle Assemblée. It came complete with the text, a fashion description of fabrics and styles of the greatest detail for May 1831. Descriptive text is so often missing so this was a joy to read. At 24cm by 15cm, La Belle Assemblée is often much smaller than people expect when they first buy original prints. That's because at about 9" tall it was intended to be held for reading. However the smallness means the engravings have a delicacy and daintiness, making them even more attractive to collectors. Instead of collecting vintage or antique fashion clothes, many people choose to collect fashion related paper ephemera. This can include such diverse items as costume plates, fashion plates, ladies magazines, paper dressmak...