Giornale delle Donne (Parte di Mode) – Raccolta di 6 Volumi Annati

Edited by A. Vespucci and printed by the Apollonio and Caprin Press in Turin, the journal was one of the most widely circulated and influential women’s publications in 19th-century Italy, combining literary education with updates on the latest Parisian and international fashion trends.

Years included:

1874–75 (Year VI)

1880–81

1882–83

1884–85 (Year XIV)

1886–87 (Year XVIII)

1890–91

Contents and iconographic apparatus:

Each volume is a rich compendium of contemporary social life and includes:

Fashion and society texts: Articles such as “Chiacchiere sulla Moda” (“Chats on Fashion”) by well-known contributors including M. A. Torriani.

Illustrations: Numerous woodcut plates outside the text depicting evening wear, walking dresses, and children’s clothing.

Women’s handiwork: Detailed instructions for embroidery, dressmaking patterns, and monogram alphabets.

Physical description:

Uniform contemporary bindings in half leather with marbled boards. The spines feature refined gilt titles and decorative tooling on contrasting leather labels (red and blue), with the corresponding biennia indicated at the foot.

Condition:

Copies in excellent external condition with bright gilt decoration. Interiors are well preserved, showing only the normal and slight age-toning of the paper, which does not affect the legibility of the text or the sharpness of the engravings.

Notes on value:

A primary iconographic and historical source for scholars of costume history, fashion, and women’s emancipation in late 19th-century Italy.