Journal le Printemps, Plate 1880

A. Paul (printmaker), after A. Lefrancq (designer)

Journal le Printemps, Plate 1880

Hand-colored Lithograph

The figure on the left wears an elegant white dress adorned with delicate floral motifs, lace trim, and a red sash tied at the waist, while carrying a matching white parasol. The figure on the right is dressed in a tailored blue jacket paired with a plaid bustle skirt, showcasing the structured silhouettes and fashionable mixing of fabrics and patterns that were popular during the late nineteenth century.

Journal le Printemps was a prominent French fashion magazine published in association with the elite Parisian department store Printemps. Active from the mid-nineteenth century into the early twentieth century, the publication combined fashion journalism with advertising, offering subscribers finely detailed illustrations of the latest styles available in Paris. These fashion plates were typically printed through engraving or lithographic processes and then meticulously hand-colored by artisans. Such works provide important insight into the evolution of Victorian and early Edwardian dress, documenting changing ideals of femininity, domesticity, and consumer culture during a period when Paris was widely regarded as the international center of fashion. Today, original fashion plates from Journal le Printemps are valued by collectors and historians alike for their artistic craftsmanship and their role in preserving the visual culture of nineteenth-century haute couture.

Dimensions: H 13.25 x 10 W

Condition: tear on upper right and bottom left