I am always am in search of antique theater costume designs. I often run
across theater costumes designed by big name fashion designers in the 1920s
in L'Art de Mode magazine. I find these magazines on eBay. I have a
pretty good collection of this magazine from 1900s-1920s. I have rarely
seen the designer theater costumes in the 1890s-1910s L'Art magazine issues.
My suggestion is that if you find these magazines on eBay, write the seller
and ask if the theater designs are in the magazine before purchasing. These
magazines are in French but does provide an English translation under the
illustrations.
Delineator magazine also covers interviews and photos of actors/actresses.
Most of these, I recall, are from the 1890s-1920s.
Artists of the 1920s also were known to design for theater. Bakst and
Matisse were known for their designs for the Ballets Russes. I saw some of
these costumes at the Baltimore Museum of Fine Arts exhibit a few years ago.
They had a big exhibit of them. The Evergreen Mansion in Baltimore has
several renderings of theatre costume designs by these artists. They have a
special room for these. If you are in Baltimore, this mansion is a
must-see. The last owner of the mansion hired big name artists from the
1920s-1950s to paint in her home. They also had to give her painting
lessons. Her attic was transformed into a theater painted by Bakst or
Matisse... but memory seems to recall it was Bakst. Evergreen is now owned
by John Hopkins University. The property is located next door to the
university. There is a book out about Bakst Ballets Russe costume designs.
This past week, I purchased at Blockbusters a used DVD titled Ballet Russes.
It is a history from the beginning of the company until the 1950s. The only
artist costumes shown was Matisse. But the antique footage of the Ballets
and the costumes is really nice. If you are in the U.S. and would like to
borrow the DVD, let me know off-list. I don't know how hard the DVD is to
find.
It was very popular for actresses to be photographed in their costumes. In
the late 1900s-1910s these can be seen in a photo postcard format. There
are also cabinet card photos from the 1890s-1900s. I find them frequently
at antique shows and at my favorite local antique publication shop carries
them..
I purchased a Parisian illustrator's original rendering collection for plays
from the 1890s-1902. These renderings were also published in magazines, but
I do not know which magazines. They are stunningly beautiful and the colors
are very vivid. One day, I will get these renderings online. It is quite a
large collection. Each plate has 5-6 of the character's costumes for French
plays.
I have two antique books on theater costumes. I can't locate them at the
moment. My office is torn apart in a reorganization project. I got more
bookshelves!!! YIPPEE!!! This project won't be completed until the end of
November. When I finish this project, I will post the names of the books to
the list.
Penny Ladnier,
Owner, The Costume Gallery Websites
www.costumegallery.com
www.costumelibrary.com
www.costumeclassroom.com
www.costumeencyclopedia.com
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