Special Collections

The Fashion Plate Collection consists of hand-colored fashion plates from the French periodical La Gazette du Bon Ton (considered the most influential fashion magazine during its existence from 1912 to 1925) and its American edition, La Gazette du Bon Genre. The plates in Pratt's collection date from 1914 to 1922, were created by such prominent French artists as George Barbier, Pierre Brissaud, and Georges Lepape, and anticipate the Art Deco movement of the mid-1920s. 
For inquiries regarding permissions and use fees, please contact: rightsandrepro.library@pratt.edu.

Image Credit:  Indoor dress in white and grey: Planche III (3) in Gazette du Bon Ton, No. 12. Signed in lower left, "Strimpl - 1912. Pratt Institute Libraries, Special Collections.

The Ex Libris Collection consists of nineteenth- and twentieth-century bookplates from private and institutional libraries.  Little is known about the history of the collection, but according to an entry in the Report of the Pratt Institute Free Library from June 30, 1918, the decision to being collecting and exchanging bookplates began in 1918 and likely continued through the 1930s, though there is no record of when the library ceased building the collection. The plates feature finely detailed engraving and etching, and serve as outstanding examples of period book art and typography. Represented in the collection are prominent American bookplate artists such as William Fowler Hopson and Joseph Winfred Spenceley, as well as important Dutch, English, German, Hungarian, Swedish, and Spanish artists.

The physical collection is currently housed in the library's Special Collections and may be viewed by contacting speccoll.library@pratt.edu to make an appointment.

For inquiries regarding permissions and use fees, please contact: rightsandrepro.library@pratt.edu:.

Image Credit: Bookplate of Esto Vigilans by F. Francini, 1935. Pratt Institute Libraries, Special Collections.