In Tsarist-era Russia, having a subscription to foreign magazines was viewed as par for the course. The same held true for merchant families. They ordered magazines from France, Germany, and America, among other countries. The museum owns a collection of French colored engravings dating between the 1870s and the 1890s and depicting women’s clothes that were in fashion during that time. Some of these illustrations can be seen on display.

“La Mode Illustree, ” or “Fashion Illustrated, ” was considered one of the most popular magazines in the world of French fashion. Launched in 1852, it was the long-time leading publication in both America and Europe, especially in terms of the quality of its illustrations and engravings. The magazine had a clearly defined target audience: its core readership was not high-society fashionistas, but rather married ladies, homemakers. Staying true to its status as a family magazine, the publication offered its readers a compromise, combining fashion trends with saving the family budget.

Colorful engravings of “La Mode Illustree” showcased dress designs by the most famous Parisian couturiers of that era. The engraving on display was created in 1872 by the French artist Heloise Leloir (1820–1874). Her signature can be seen in the lower right corner of the image. Before us is an example of a 19th-century advertisement for a wedding dress and clothing for bridesmaids of different ages. Fashionable dresses of that era were worn with bustles, which added fullness below the waist, and were decorated with bows, ruffles, embroidery, and fringe. These engravings always specified the address of the advertised fashion boutique, which in most cases were named after their owner, as per tradition.

Over time, the number of fashion publications kept increasing, but “La Mode Illustree” still continued to employ highly paid engravers. Only by the late 1910s did the magazine switch to phototypic and lithographic illustrations. For as long as a century and a half, these stylish, masterfully crafted engravings have been regarded as collector’s items and used in interior decoration. The engravings were republished in the 1920s, but this time through the application of the offset printing technique, as the original prints had been lost.