Kathryn Norberg - Fashion Prints in the Age of Louis XIV: Interpreting the Art of Elegance

The essays in this volume were inspired by the acquisition in 2002 by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) of a volume (bound 17024) of 190 hand-colored fashion prints on paper, from the latter part of the seventeenth century. This volume, entitled Recueil des modes de la cour de France, catalog number M.2002.57.1-.190, measures 36.83 24.77 4.45 cm closed and when open reveals 190 hand-colored prints (Sheet: 14 9 inches [36.2 24.13 cm]). The engravers of these prints are Henri Bonnart (France, 16421711); Robert Bonnart (France, 1652unknown); Jean Dieu de Saint-Jean (France, flourished 167595); Jacques Le Pautre (France, Paris, 165384); Jean Brain (France, 1637/16401711); Nicolas Arnoult (France, c. 16711700); Nicolas Bonnart (France, 16371717); and Jean-Baptiste Bonnart (France, 16541726).

The LACMA Recueil constitutes the common thread joining these chapters, which would never have been written had not several generous donors provided the funds that allowed the museum to purchase this treasure. These donors include the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. H. Tony Oppenheimer, Mr. and Mrs. Reed Oppenheimer, Hal Oppenheimer, Alice and Nahum Lainer, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Oppenheimer, Ricki and Marvin Ring, Mr. and Mrs. David Sydorick, the Costume Council Fund, and members of the Costume Council of the Los Angeles County Museum.

The acquisition of the Recueil des modes de la cour de France was marked by an exhibition, Images of Fashion from the court of Louis XIV, organized by the Department of Costume and Textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Two symposia occurred in conjunction with this exhibition. The first, entitled Seventeenth-Century Textiles & Dress, was held at LACMA on Saturday, April 9, 2005, and constituted the triennial R. L. Shep Symposium.

The second, Fashion in the Age of Louis XIV, was held at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library on June 1011, 2005. Kathryn Norberg (Department of History, UCLA), Sandra L. Rosenbaum (Department of Costume and Textiles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art), and Michael J. Hackett (Department of Theater, UCLA) organized this conference. Support came from the French Consulate of Los Angeles, the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as well as from the UCLA Center for Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Studies. The success of the conference prompted us to publish this book.

Many have assisted us in the task of producing this volume. It appears as a part of the Costume Society of America series of which Phyllis Specht is the Series Editor. Phyllis has been a tireless champion and collaborator and we thank her for her efforts on our behalf. Additionally, we would like to thank LACMA for making the prints available to the public (including the contributors to this volume) on its website.

We owe a special debt to Judith Keeling, former Editor-in-Chief, Texas Tech University Press, who shepherded our book through the review process. Kellyanne Ure, former editorial assistant extraordinaire at TTUP, showed heroic patience in answering our hundreds of e-mails during the final submission of the manuscript. At TTUP, we thank Joanna Conrad, Editor-in-Chief, Amanda Werts, managing editor, and Dawn Ollila, our copyeditor, who carried the project to completion. Special thanks go to Corinne Thpaut-Cabasset, who generously shared her work in progress, and Jann Matlock, who read early versions of the introduction. Our sincerest thanks are due to our contributors, who remained a faithful to this project during its lengthy gestation. Stephen Rosenbaum supplied technical assistance. Dr. Philip Hoffman and Dr. David Rosenbaum supported us throughout with good humor and patience.

Los Angeles, 2014