Historical Style.

Hansen, Henny Harald

Costumes and Styles [685 Historic Examples in Color]

New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., [c. 1956].
An expansive visual encyclopedia of fashion evolution, featuring nearly seven hundred color illustrations spanning ancient Egypt to the mid-20th century. 

Henny Harald Hansen’s work is celebrated for its dense, chronological arrangement of costumes, allowing for an immediate comparative study of silhouettes, textiles, and stylistic shifts across civilizations. Unlike many contemporary fashion histories that rely on black-and-white plates, this volume utilizes vibrant, full-color renderings to document the aesthetic transitions of the global wardrobe, making it an indispensable reference for designers, historians, and illustrators.

KEY FEATURES
+++ Visuals: Illustrated with 685 examples of historic costume in high-fidelity color, organized in large-format plates. 
+++ Binding: Original red cloth; front board features a gilt-stamped decorative motif; spine lettered in gilt. 
+++ Content: A comprehensive survey of fashion history, complete with an exhaustive index of styles and periods. 
+++ Imprint: E. P. Dutton & Co., New York. 
+++ Specs: 9.25 inches tall; 160 pages.

CONDITION — Very Good. The Book: Bindings are tight and square; gilt remains bright and the red cloth is vibrant. Internally clean with no markings. The Jacket: Good+ state; showing shelf wear to the corners and spine tips. Now preserved in a new archival Mylar sleeve to prevent further wear.

SCHOLARLY FEATURES
+++ Comparative Fashion: The layout allows researchers to observe the simultaneous evolution of male and female attire within specific decades, a hallmark of Hansen's pedagogical approach.
+++ Color Accuracy: Provides a critical record of period-correct color palettes, moving beyond the 'primary color' simplifications found in earlier costume manuals.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Henny Harald Hansen’s 'Costumes and Styles' arrived during the post-war boom of historical interest in the arts. It transformed how fashion history was taught by prioritizing the 'visual flow' of style over dense text, effectively becoming the standard desk reference for theatrical costumers and fashion students in the late 1950s and 1960s.

SUBJECTS: Fashion History, Costume Design, Textile Arts, Henny Harald Hansen, Historical Style, Reference, Illustrated Books, Fashion & Design.

Item #21732

Price: $35.00