Le Costume Historique

Originally published in France between 1876 and 1888, Auguste Racinet’s Le Costume Historique was the most wide-ranging and intelligent study of clothing ever published. Covering the world history of costume, dress, and style from antiquity through the end of the 19th century, the great work — “consolidated” in 1888 into six volumes containing nearly 500 plates — remains, to this day, completely unique in its scope and detail.