Antique Fashion & Costume Plates
Part 9 - La Mode Illustrée Reproduction Prints
Fashion History

Left - 2 La Mode Illustrée 1950's Reprints of 1860's Plates

Right - 2 La Mode Illustrée 1950's Reprints of 1870's

Above Reprinted Fashion Plates of La Mode Illustrée - Artist Anaïs Toudouze

The two fashion reprints from the 1860s era directly left, are the most charming from this set.  Then the two early tabard polonaise bustle styles on the right of 1870s designs are the pair of fashion prints that a lot of people seem to wish to sell!  For some reason I have seen these two fashion plates to the right traded most frequently and of the set of 8 I think they are the least attractive. So must other sellers by the number of times they appear in sales.

The one on the left has very crude floral fabric colouration and the blue of the dress is super intense and garish and this may well fit in with the introduction of aniline dyes, but the execution lacks something. The last is just a dull combination of colours compared to more pretty pretty fashion plates. These 4 images crop up on the internet time and again.  The problem is many of their owners or their parents have had them 40 years or more, so convince themselves the reprints are old enough to be antiques.

Tell tale signs are the perfectly symmetrical sheets of paper they are printed on.  Authentic fashion plates are often on comparatively fragile paper not much thicker that the sort of quality paper you might use in a laser printer. One spine edge is likely to be rough. These reproduction prints are printed on heavier evenly ecru toned watercolour type paper.  But the other antique Mode Illustrée plates I own are on smooth paper, delicate colour application and they have real age marks or foxing! 

La Mode Illustrée Reproduction Prints - 1870s

Reproduced Fashion Plates for La Mode Illustrée - Artist Anaïs Toudouze

The original colour in these fashion plates is far cruder and I have lightened them for my purposes on the site.  But the overall images are very chocolate box pretty and I like them as they are ultra feminine even though they are totally impractical fashion wear.

There were many printing marks that I have cleaned up too and each print bears a tiny printers trademark logo.  I say buyer beware.  If you like a fashion plate print and it is a 50 year old reproduction or a modern reproduction that is perfectly fine.  But please do not try to sell them as antiques or buy them believing they are true antiques. 

Colour Printing and Trademark Stamps.

The printing on these 1950s reprints is very crude compared to the image of the same era on the previous page. Look at the printing overlap on this hand above here - the colour has really flooded far more than it should have.  Good overprinting avoids this.

The prints have this impression information on them plus a number below 10.  Above this is a circular logo stamp with SZL printed in blue. This is the second printer signature and circular logo trademark.