Lending

Those who know the Jane Ashelford did The Sixteenth Century (A Visual History of Costume) may be wondering how this differs. They are alike in that both rely on reproductions of contemporary illustrations, mostly in black-and-white.

As the title suggests, this focuses on the years 1558-1603. The first two chapters are somewhat similar to those years in her other book, being costumes of women and costumes of men, although of course these are covered in more depth. Ashelford has chosen to put the descriptions in the text, rather than in the standardized format of the Visual History series.

In this book, Ashelford goes considerably more in depth in the social significance of the clothing. She considers its relationship to social status, examines the widespread use of allegory, looks at festive costumes and the fashion trade.

I am glad to say that she has not used any of her color pictures on representations of Elizabeth I, whose portraits are so widely reproduced, but has presented less familiar portraits. Some of the pictures have not reproduced well at all - the faces are rather ghostly.

I would say that for a person who is interested solely in Elizabethan fashion, the Visual History book would not add much to this. The person with a more general interest in Tudor fashion may want both.

Includes notes, a glossary, a select bibliography and an index. ( )

- A Visual History of Costume : the Sixteenth Century by Jane Ashelford (1983)
- Dress in the Age of Elizabeth by Jane Ashelford (1988)

Both are useful. Though they are both by the same author, they have different pictures in them. The Visual History is part of a series, so conforms to the series format, but the other is a stand-alone, so the author could devote more attention to areas that were not stressed in the Visual History.

In both, most of the illustrations are black-and-white, with a few color plates, but the quality is good. Many of the pictures are large. Both books are 7-1/2" x 10", and about half an inch thick.

The Visual History is arranged chronologically and covers the whole sixteenth century, while "Dress" only covers the reign of Elizabeth.

Here's the table of contents of "Dress":

1. Women's dress 1558-1603
2. Men's dress 1558-1603
3. 'The mart of fools': London and the fashion trade
4. 'Printing my thoughts in lawn': the language of dress
5. 'Straunge fantastick habit': festive dress ( )