One of the things I especially love about my job is when a researcher pops their head in and asks if the archive might have something on their subject – and we do! Then I can sit them down while I pull boxes, folders and volumes off various shelves saying “Oh, you might want to browse through this”, or “This will be well worth a look” and seeing their delight at having so many resources to call on.
This afternoon a student visited wondering if we had anything on fashion in the 1920s. As well as several fashion journals, including the fabulous Gazette du Bon Ton, we also have 3 separate collections of fashion illustration which date to this period. These beautifully drawn images come from various sources – two were purchased by the Library over 30 years ago, while another was a very recent donation by someone who knew that we are interested in expanding our fashion collections. Little is known about the artists.
Everyone is welcome to visit the Archive and look through these or any of our other fashion resources.
Katharine
