But before you start...
It's best to know what you're looking for. If you just want to stare at the pictures, you might be overwhelmed by all of the material. I've tried to list the basic topics that the magazines cover, but it is definitely not everything. Also, if you're only interested in Godey's, it still might be useful to skim Der Bazar. It's surprising the little tidbits that cross over different magazines!
As much as people go on about how the computer is effectively wiping out social interaction, I'd like to add that it is also helping greatly with research. All of the links that I've listed allow free access to the text, a luxury for those of us unable to get to a library or buy an original. I've listed only the years that I could find or thought were useful for Civil War reenacting. Sometimes a link will lead only to a few months from that year; I hope to eventually complete the list.
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| Wikipedia |
Author: Sarah Hale, Louis Godey
Published: 1830-1898
Location: Philadelphia, United States
Topics: Advertisements, Short stories, health remedies, recipes, fashion plates, crafts, patterns, poetry. This magazine is cited the most often for American Civil War reenactors, though it takes many of its plates from the European magazines.
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| Duke University |
Author: Timothy Shay Arthur, Arthur and Virginia Townsend
Published: 1852-1898
Location: Philadelphia, United States
Topics: Short stories, health remedies, recipes, fashion plates, crafts, patterns, poetry. You'll find many similarities between this magazine and Godey's.
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| HCA Auctions |
Title: Frank Leslie's Lady's Gazette
Author: Frank Leslie
Published: 1860-1863
Location: New York, United States
Topics: Literature, fashion engravings, crafts, patterns, comics. I could not find very much information about this particular version of Leslie's, though the two years could be helpful for research. Leslie has many newspapers out there, so this is just a snippet.
1860
1863
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| Philsp.com |
Title: Peterson's Magazine
Author: Charles Peterson
Published: 1842-1898
Location: Philadelphia, United States
Topics: Literature, fashion engravings, crafts, patterns, music. This is an amazing resource that is often overlooked. Notice how it mirrors the other magazines!
1855 1861
1856 1862
1857 1864
1858 1865
1860
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| Wiki |
Author: Samuel Beeton
Published: 1852-1879
Location: London, England
Topics: Literature, health advice, gardening, cooking. Less fashion advice in this source, but certainly helpful in regards to middle class life.
1860
1861-62
1862-63
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| Google Books |
Title: The What-not; or Ladies' Handy-Book
Author: Unknown
Published: 1859-1863
Location: London, England
Topics: Literature, health advice, gardening, fashion, crafts, patterns. I don't have much as much experience with this source, though it parallels Godey's. I will be using it in the future!
1859
1861
1863
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| Google Books |
Author: Aubert
Published: 1863-1865
Location: Paris, France
Topics: Literature, fashion engravings, crafts, patterns, just about everything. My French is a nonexistent, so using this has been somewhat difficult. Google translate has been extremely helpful!
1863
1864
1865
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| Google Books |
Title: La Mode Illustrée Journal de la Famille
Author: Firmin-Didot
Published: 1860-1948
Location: Paris, France
Topics: Literature, fashion engravings, crafts, patterns, music, again everything. Very similar to the other French magazines, which can be helpful when gathering documentation.
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
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| Google Books |
Author: Adolphe Goubaud
Published: 1808-1892
Location: Paris, France
Topics: Literature, fashion engravings, crafts, patterns. There are less illustrations in this magazine, though by now I think I'm fluent enough in Google Translate to figure out the trends!
1855 1865
1856
1857
1863
1864
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| Ted Kaehler |
Author:
Published:
Location:
Topics: Literature, fashion engravings, crafts, patterns, music. This is a very good archive, though I have yet to figure out the searching component. Plenty of illustrations that are the same as Godey's, though this magazine published them first! They are more clear to read.
1857 1862
1858 1864
1859 1865
1860
1861
In conclusion...
LOOK AT ALL THE SHINY THINGS! But realize that it doesn't include everything. This list is certainly not complete; as time goes on, different archives will upload more sources, perhaps finishing this list. I plan to keep updating if I notice a broken link as this will be my main research page.
While spending hours researching links and sources might not be the most sane way to spend an afternoon, I'm glad it's done. I hope this helps some of you newer reenactors, since it can be difficult to find exact sources when just starting. And you veterans...go dwell in the text for a bit. Who knows, you might find something
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| Rainbow snoods are the leading cause of reenactor deaths |
~Kristen
Thanks for compiling the list! I've pinned it.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post! I'm going to add this to my list of helpful pages.
ReplyDeletehttp://worldturndupsidedown.blogspot.com/p/helpful-websites.html
I just have to tell you, this list is the best! Just wondering; how do I find more Les Modes Parisiennes in non-Civil war years? I've tried Google books, but all I get is a bunch of books to buy. Is there a way to search only books that are accessible online?
ReplyDelete