On exhibit are approximately 21 hand-colored and brightly-hued fashion plates from U.S. and French periodicals, mostly from the 1860s through the 1880s. They are joined by four fashionable painted or engraved fans on paper and fabric from Europe and the U.S., from the 18th Century to the 1890s. The fashion images come from the collection of Cornelia Neltnor Anthony, West Chicago, donated by her nephew Edwin N. Asmann ’27.  The fans, arranged around a major folio-scaled book, The History of the Fan by D. Woolliscroft Rhead (Philadelphia, 1910), are from the collection of the late Mr. Asmann’s first spouse, Muriel Barnes Asmann ’31.  

Donnelley and Lee Library’s Special Collections has drawn inspiration for its current display, on view through October 18, from the Art Institute of Chicago’s exhibition built around Impressionist paintings, Impressionism, Fashion & Modernity. Some of the images and objects shown there in conjunction with the paintings from the AIC collection and from the Met (New York) and the Musee d’Orsay (Paris) help visitors understand the context of the paintings.

The Special Collections fashion plates also show some of the styles of dresses, the parasols, fans and other objects presented for various kinds of situations—attending the opera (fans), strolling in the summer sunlight (hats, parasols), etc. Visitors to the exhibit can view a copy of the catalog for the Art Institute of Chicago exhibit. 

News Contact

Arthur H. Miller, Archivist and Librarian for Special Collections, Donnelley and Lee Library 004,
847-735-5064 (office) or -5071 (reading room), 
www.lakeforest.edu/archives/