This fascinating, rathe enigmatic linen-bound notebook contains hundreds of illustrations of historic fashion and wardrobe studies from the mid to late 1800s. The majority of the pages are filled with...
This fascinating, rathe enigmatic linen-bound notebook contains hundreds of illustrations of historic fashion and wardrobe studies from the mid to late 1800s. The majority of the pages are filled with meticulous diagrams and written notes of the clothing from different American indigenous groups such as the Apache, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Choctaw, Pawnee, and Sioux people. Specialized dress, accessories, and tools are shown for Cheyenne buffalo hunting, Comanche horsemanship, Sioux dance and sports, and Pawnee ranking.
Many of the portraits appear to have been done after George Catlin drawings, but the meticulous and specific detail of the coloring, fabric, etc., suggest the creator perhaps handled some of the material in a museum or institutional setting. A page with an illustration of both sides of The Fremont Flag has accompanying notations about its location at the Southwest Museum. The book was almost certainly created in California, given the previous reference, as well as another reference to a costume for a “San Gabriel Mission Play” and the fact that the brand of notebook “Blue Bond” (with its patented blue-toned pages that allegedly comfort the eyes) was manufactured and sold in California.
The notebook also contains various battle uniforms of French wars of the late 1800s as well as miscellaneous headdresses of Egypt and a few landscape sketches.