[1905] Geschichte des Kostüms

Description

Colour Plates, First Edition, Illustrated, Publishers' Original Binding, Uncommon

A first edition of this heavily illustrated set on the History of Costume. With four hundred lithograph plates across the five volumes, most of which are in colour. Published in German. Each volume of this colourful and fascinating work is comprised of eighty plates by Max Tilke, each accompanied by a page of explanation and description by the German cultural historian Eduard Heyck, collated and complete. With sections on the fashion of ancient China, Egypt, Greece, as well as Europe in the middle ages. The volumes then move chronologically through the centuries until around 1820, until the final volume which discusses European folk costumes, and the fashions of various groups in Asia, Africa, and Northern America. Max Tilke specialised in the history of fashion design, and was himself a fashion designer, illustrator, and ethnographer. As ethnic costumes are increasingly replaced by Westernised clothing, Tilke's work reminds us that the study of historical costume is indispensable to the study of cultural history. Except for volume III, all the volumes are missing the volume number in typescript to the front cover. The volume numbers have been added by a previous owner in pencil to the front board.