Original fashion plates may be collected either as individual prints or in the magazines in which they originally published.
Original periodicals: You can find nineteenth century periodicals in rare bookstores. However, I always find that when I’m looking for something specific, I never find it – but I find lots of other interesting things! To minimize your searching time, I recommend going to Abe Books, which is where myriad rare and secondhand bookstores list their goods. You purchase the item through Abe Books, and the bookseller ships it to you.
I cannot praise Abe Books enough. I discovered it when I was a grad student at a university whose bookstore always ran out of the books that were required for my classes. This was problematic, as at the graduate level you sometimes to need to read really weird/rare stuff that Amazon simply cannot provide. A woman at the reception desk of a Barnes and Noble told me about Abe Books, and I found that they have absolutely everything. That book you were obsessed with in junior high? Check. Something that has been out of print since 1884? Check. And their newsletter is wonderful. It’s the only store newsletter that I actually bother to read.
Since I’m a bit hesitant to buy 100+ year old materials without seeing them first, this is how I conduct my Abe Books searches: I type in my keyword search (example: “Godey’s Lady’s Book”), then filter my search to books in the US, and then to the state where I live (Michigan). I scan for copies that are within a half hour of where I live and then I track them down in the store. I’ll admit this tactic may not work for those who live in rural areas not in comfortable driving distance of a city.
Not sure what types of periodicals to look for? Fashion’s Era fashion plate page has a great listing of periodicals that printed fashion plates.
Individual prints: Sometimes, it makes sense to collect fashion plates individually because magazines aren’t the most durable product in the world and therefore don’t always make it through the decades gracefully. If you do get your hands on a magazine of good quality, it may still be missing plates as people do have a tendency to yank these out of the journals. Plus, if you buy it as an individual plate, you can frame it without feeling guilty about removing it from a magazine that was already an antique by the time your grandma was born.
While you can find fashion plates in secondhand and rare bookstores from time to time, the easiest and most cost effective way to collect them is on ebay.
