written the only substantial book on the subject.' 

 Mr. Holland limited his study to hand-colored fashion 

 plates of the period from 1770 to 1899, possibly because 

 these are most in favor with collectors. He omitted 

 trade and advertisement plates, believing them to be 

 primarily concerned with the history of dress. 



The main functions of fashionable dress are to draw- 

 attention to the wearer, to define his social position, 

 and to show who he is and what he is doing. Modesty, 

 protection against the weather, and appeal to the 

 opposite sex, are, so far as fashion is concerned, 

 subsidiary functions. Interest in fashionable dress 

 goes back at least to the 1 6th century, as is evidenced 

 by a popular dialogue written by Alessandro Pic- 

 colomini, a relative of Pope Pius II, who subsequently 

 became coadjutor Archbishop of Siena.- Piccolomini 

 wrote under the pseudonym "Lo Stordito," and it is 

 not clear to what extent the dialogue was sponsored 

 by the Academy of the Intronati, an aristocratic, 

 literary, and social society of which he was a member. 

 He stated that the recjuirements of fashionable dress 

 were that it be sumptuous in material, tasteful in style, 

 and borne gracefully by the wearer. L^nfortunatcly 

 for the costume historian, the dialogue is not illustrated. 



It has been assumed too readily perhaps that the 

 fashion plate dates from the late 18th century, but it 

 is not difficult to demonstrate that it existed in all its 

 essentials at earlier periods, even though its history 

 may not be continuous. The beginning of the illus- 

 tration of fashions is found in portraits, the earliest 

 of which, eitlier sculptured or painted, developed 

 from images of kings and important personages.' 

 These images, unlike the imagines of the Romans, made 

 no attempt to portray the features of an individual, 

 but made his identity known rather by his clothes, 

 his arms, and otiier indications of rank or position. 

 The development of the stylized image into the per- 

 sonal portrait is well illustrated in the diary of Jorg 

 von Ehingen.^ Von Ehingen, who traveled widely in 

 Europe during the years preceding 1460, might be 

 described as a professional jouster, who took part. 



A 



ITFRA IFGATIONE A FERniNANDO IMPERA. 

 TORE TVNC ARCHinVCE MISSVS An MOSCVM 

 ILLE ME TALI KEMISIT VESTE 



1 Vyvyan Holland, Hand Coloured Fashion Plates, 1770-1899 

 (Boston: Boston Book and Art Shop, Inc., 1955). 



- Alessandro Piccolomini, Dialogo de la bdla creanra de le 

 donne (Venice, 1540). The dialogue is reprinted in G. Zonta, 

 Trattati del Cinquecento sulla donna (1913), but it deserves a 

 modern translation and editing. 



3 Sir Henry Hake, ''The English Historic Portrait." Lecture 

 for the British Academy, 1943. 



' Malcolm Letts, The Diary of Jorg von Ehingen (1929). 



Figure 2. — ^Dress of .Sigmund von Herberstein for 

 the second embassy to Moscow, 1526. He wears a 

 wide-sleeved gown with the collar and lining made 

 of fine sables. His fur-lined high cap is of white felt, 

 its brim distinguished by a band of red cloth, a mark 

 of nobility. From Gratae Posteritati. \560. {Courtesy 

 of British Museum, London.) 



usually with great success, in tournaments at the 

 various courts. To illustrate the account of his 

 exploits, he had portraits drawn and painted of the 

 different princes and kings, portraying each not with 

 his crown and scepter but with the distinctive fashion 

 of his court. This diary — not printed until the 1 9th 

 century — was circulated in manuscript and shows, 

 in addition to the interest in personal portraits, the 

 growing interest in the dress of individuals. 



Although the earlier painters of the Italian Ren- 

 aissance recorded the decorative and often exotic dress 



68 



BULLETIN 250: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



