Haas Brothers Blue Book of Models. Fall Winter 1927 - 28 [Title on title page: Reproductions of Models Exhibited by Haas Brothers Fabrics Corporation]

Edité par Haas Brothers Fabrics Corporation, New York, 1927

A propos de cet article

A fine catalogue showcasing the high fashion of the Jazz Age in its last dizzy phase of exuberance before it all came crashing down. Curiously, the issuer of the catalogue, as implied by its business name, wasn't selling fashion at all, as far as we know, but rather, fabric; the logic behind the catalogue would then have been more indirect. Since Haas Brothers sold primarily to the garment industry and tailors, it would have been looking to generate goodwill as well as encourage designs that needed the fine fabrics it had to sell. The company was apparently an important fabric jobber of the early 20th Century until it went bankrupt in the 1930s. Folio, 35 by 28 cm. Unpaginated, with 42 leaves containing content, 40 of which are illustrated fashion plates, based on drawings. The number of plates is nine less than the prior year, but there are also some significant compensations. First, the Art Deco-element has become more pronounced in this catalogue, with not just the stylized "HB" emblem on each page but also a sidebar panel very architectural in its conception. But even more significantly, all the designs here are credited to their designer: Lelong, Patou, Chanel, etc., an invaluable resource for students of fashion of the period. The plates have a large drawing of a svelte model, her height exaggerated in the manner of Sargent portraiture, and exuding an impossible elegance and glamour with her hauteur as high fashion models do to this day. On the same plate a much smaller drawing shows the model from the back, and occasionally there are two smaller drawings on the plate. The plates have brief captioning below their drawings with the model number of the garment -- the numbering is not in order and has nothing to do with pagination -- and the facing page, which is the verso of the previous plate in all but the first instance, has a little more detailed description. Before reaching the plates, there is a title page, with a blank verso, and then a page about the company's fabrics, with its verso containing the description of its facing plate. The gilt lettering and decoration on the leatherette cover is faded in places, and there is a light subtle hint of dampstaining on the lower edge. A few leaves within also have narrow edge dampstaining, and the later leaves were dinged along the edge. The area affected is negligible -- at its worst, about one cm in height, and less than 2 mm in width, and chipped, but with no impact on the content whatsoever. A few small stains on the fore-edge. Overall, still a clean, lovely copy.

N° de réf. du vendeur 20963

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Haas Brothers Blue Book of Models. Fall Winter 1927 - 28 [Title on title page: Reproductions of Models Exhibited by Haas Brothers Fabrics Corporation]
• Éditeur: Haas Brothers Fabrics Corporation, New York
• Date de parution: 1927
• Reliure: Limp Leatherette
• État de l'article: Very Good Plus
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Art Deco
  • Trades and Trade Catalogs
  • Costume and Fashion