The May Fashions of London and Paris

Three hand-coloured fashion plates, bound in pale lilac, printed, saddle stitched wrappers. Wrappers worn and lightly chapped at edges, faded, with small portion absent at base of front. Some edge wear to internal leaves, else bright and fresh. Some mild spotting. Each of the plates has a tissue guard. Twenty two figures ‘faithfully drawn from the real life in the most fashionable circles’. This is the May 1800 issue of a monthly magazine intended to be used by milliners, mantua-makers and others to follow the fashions of high society in London and Paris. The first two plates give 18 exquisite head dresses fashionable in London in May 1800 while the third has four of the ‘most recent and most favourite’ Paris dresses – two ball dresses, a satin robe and a Neglige (or Afternoon Dress). The plates are gorgeous, and show that the prevailing colours of the time were lilac, pea green and yellow. Wrappers covered in advertisements for books recently published by R Phillips. Bound in at the rear is an elegant and bright advertisement for embossed writing paper, itself embossed and decorated.