Les Modes Parisiennes, 1877, No. 1763 : Modéles des Grands Magasins (...) 1877

This print, 'Les Modes Parisiennes', was made in 1877 by E. Bracquet, using a process that combines etching and engraving, finished with hand coloring. The etching and engraving processes are critical to how the image reads. Notice the fine, almost invisible lines that define the figures’ fashionable gowns. The lines create texture, volume, and depth. Consider, too, the labor involved; not only the original design work, but also the skilled handiwork involved in the etching and engraving itself. This was then handed over to colorists, often women, who applied the hues in an assembly line process. Prints like these were instrumental in the development of consumer culture, specifically the rise of department stores, whose models are advertised here. They provided the template for fashionable dress that could be produced by largely anonymous labor. This print shows us not just the styles of the time, but also the industrializing fashion system that produced them.