Ackermann's Repository was a popular British publication of the Regency period and its monthly issues were in distribution from January 1809 till its final issue on December 1828. Fortunately for us, Ackermann's Repository was published by a printing house that specialized in producing bound volumes intended for reference and private libraries. Had this just been a fashion magazine, I believe many of the amazing plates would have vanished over time; however since this publication was a literary, economic, political, architectural,as well as a fashion publication; the pages of Ackermann's was treated as a reference item and several full collections of these bound volumes still exist today.
(In 1829 Ackermann's had a fashion only publication - "Ackermann's Repository of Fashion".)
Ackermann's was know in its day as one of the premier print shops and produced many illustrated book series and lithographs during it's time. From the beginning "The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions, and Politics" as it was formally called was intended to be bound into books even though it was available as a monthly magazine as well. This is why you see the odd numbering system on the illustrated plates. At the end of each year, that years issues were available as a 2 volume set and could be purchased in a variety of binding options directly from Ackermann's or from several of the other binding houses or book sellers in London. A subscriber also had the option of having their individual issues custom bound to order. It's just so interesting how things were done 200 years ago.
1823 was the start of Series 3
When these were later bound into their 2 volume sets.
Jan - Jun 1823 were part of Series 3 Volume 1
July - Dec 1823 were part of Series 3 Volume 2
1823 would have volumes 3&4
1824 would have volumes 5&6
and so on and so forth till the series was completed
At the end of the 20 years of Ackermann's Repository there were 40 bound book volumes.
(In 1829 Ackermann's had a fashion only publication - "Ackermann's Repository of Fashion".)
Ackermann's was know in its day as one of the premier print shops and produced many illustrated book series and lithographs during it's time. From the beginning "The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions, and Politics" as it was formally called was intended to be bound into books even though it was available as a monthly magazine as well. This is why you see the odd numbering system on the illustrated plates. At the end of each year, that years issues were available as a 2 volume set and could be purchased in a variety of binding options directly from Ackermann's or from several of the other binding houses or book sellers in London. A subscriber also had the option of having their individual issues custom bound to order. It's just so interesting how things were done 200 years ago.
1823 was the start of Series 3
When these were later bound into their 2 volume sets.
Jan - Jun 1823 were part of Series 3 Volume 1
July - Dec 1823 were part of Series 3 Volume 2
1823 would have volumes 3&4
1824 would have volumes 5&6
and so on and so forth till the series was completed
At the end of the 20 years of Ackermann's Repository there were 40 bound book volumes.
According to the information I've found up to 1,000 bound volumes of Ackermann's Repository were sold per year. I've yet to find a number of how many issues of each magazine were sold per month; however it must have been a lucrative venture for it to have been published in both formats for a twenty year period of time.
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| My pick of the 1823 Ackermann's Repository Fashions |
I have been posting all the lovely fashion plates from the pages of Ackermann's
and continue now with Series 3 which ran from January 1823 - December 1828.
These fashion would be considered late Regency and can be most easily identified by
the more form fitting bodices, dropping waistlines and fuller skirt bottoms.
and continue now with Series 3 which ran from January 1823 - December 1828.
These fashion would be considered late Regency and can be most easily identified by
the more form fitting bodices, dropping waistlines and fuller skirt bottoms.
Today I will be posting the fashions for 1823 and I hope you enjoy seeing them.
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| This is what the cover page for Series 3 Vol 1 (Jan - June) 1823 looked like in the bound book form |
Ackermann's Repository 1823 Fashion Plates
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - January Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - January Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - February Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - February Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - March Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - March Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - April Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - April Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - May Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - May Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - June Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 1 - June Issue |
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| This is what the cover page for Series 3 Vol 2 (July - Dec) 1823 looked like in the bound book form |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - July Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - July Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - August Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - August Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - September Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - September Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - October Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - October Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - November Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - November Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - December Issue |
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| 1823 - Ackermann's Repository Series 3 Vol 2 - December Issue |
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For those of you who want a bit more than to see the pretty fashions;
here are the fashion descriptions from the November 1823 issue.
I though I'd show this one since it included descriptions of the fashion plate showing hats.
You will notice I left the pages intact and did not crop out the extra bits from the previous article that precedes the fashion articles; nor did I remove the beginning of the article that followed the fashions.
This is so you can see how the articles ran one into the other and how they can jump from one topic to the next without the two being related. Here we have on page 305 the ending of a technology article followed by fashion then one about a new illustrated literary book soon to be available for sale by Ackermann's.
for the new release of Ackermann's annual "The Forget Me Not".
"The Forget Me Not" was another well known publication by Ackermann's.
This "Literary Annual" was published around November of every year (just in time for the
Christmas gift giving season) from 1822-1847 and targeted mainly the female marked.
This new style of "annual" contained 12 engravings to represent each of the months
and stories or poems to accompany each. It also contained a review of the previous year,
the recent census, a family tree of the monarchy of Britain and a list of sovereign families
and ambassadors for other kingdoms.
This would have been a very safe gift for a gentleman to present a lady and in some years
it sold up to 20,000 copies. It is believed that the bound version of Ackermann's only
sold upwards to 1,000 copies per year; so this shows how popular "The Forget Me Not" was.
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I hope you have enjoyed another trip through the Regency Fashions of
Ackermann's Repository and that you join me again when I post the fashions for 1824.
For your convenience here are some quick links to the earlier
Regency fashions I've posted on my blog.
Ackermann's ran series 1 from 1809 - 1815
Series 1 - Vol 1 & 2 - 1809
Series 1 - Vol 3 & 4 - 1810
Series 1 - Vol 5 & 6 - 1811
Series 1 - Vol 7 & 8 - 1812
Series 1 - Vol 9 & 10 - 1813
Series 1 - Vol 11 & 12 - 1814
Series 1 - Vol 13 & 14 - 1815
Series 1 - Vol 3 & 4 - 1810
Series 1 - Vol 5 & 6 - 1811
Series 1 - Vol 7 & 8 - 1812
Series 1 - Vol 9 & 10 - 1813
Series 1 - Vol 11 & 12 - 1814
Series 1 - Vol 13 & 14 - 1815
(this is a fun digital art piece I did using many of the above ladies)
Ackermann's ran series 2 from 1816 - 1822
(this is a fun digital art piece I did using several Ackermann's Repository images from
series 2 and one fun lion man from J.J. Grandville, who was another Regency period illustrator.)
Ackermann's ran series 3 from 1823 - 1828
Series 3 - Vol 1 & 2 - 1823
Series 3 (1824-1828) still to be posted
Till our next Regency adventure
Thanks for visiting me here at EKDuncan.blogspot.com
If you have enjoyed seeing these images from Ackermann's Repository
and would like the opportunity to see and read an original for yourself
they are are available on line at www.archive.org
Click HERE then choose the volume you are interested in.
You can then see and read them online or download
them to your computer for future reference.
Enjoy!
Thank you, Evelyn, for another fabulous post! I really like the Ball Dress featured in January. :-) Larissa
ReplyDeleteHey Larissa - Yes the January ball dress is a beauty. I love how that pose shows off the airy quality of the fabric used to make the over-skirt.
ReplyDeleteThe Ackermann's description shows it as follows: "White crepe lisse dress, worn over a bright pink satin slip."
It's always a challenge for me to choose my favorite fashion plate for each year I post; so I'm glad to see what others would choose as their top pick - January's ball dress is an excellent choice!
Grins,
Evelyn
Aha - now you tempt me to scroll through every other year and pick favorites...
ReplyDeleteSo little time, so many great aspirations. :-) Larisa
If you're like me, you'll find some years are easier than others to find the one that just takes you over the top.
ReplyDeleteBut I do find myself drawn to the ones where the ladies are a bit on the curvy side. I love how the artists show most of these ladies to have rounder hips and thighs even if the lady herself appears to be on the skinny side. - giggles.
It makes me wonder if the artists of these plates liked their women stacked that way or if it was the preference of most males during the period. I'd have loved to be in on the bit of period conversation while the gents sipped their port.
Giggles,
Evelyn