Our latest “Document of the Week” was chosen by our Academic Liaison Manager, Dr Catherine Bateson. It is an advertisement from The Illustrated London News, printed on 4 December, 1847.
As the weather turns decidedly chillier and snow flurries start to fly, December is a good month to break out the big winter coats, scarfs, hats, and gloves that keep us all snug and warm. The need for good winter wear is something that the Victorians understood, and amongst the back page advertisements of one edition of The Illustrated London News from 4 December, 1847, readers were directed to seek out a catalogue specifically for seasonal clothing. Promoting the Ladies’ Gazette of Fashion for December, the advert stressed that for just one shilling, readers could browse through “the most superb display of NEW WINTER COSTUMES ever published”. It contained patterns and drawings of all the latest fashion styles from the Continent, including fashions from Paris in particular. This little booklet included morning, evening, and walking attire. It showcased hats, bonnets, and caps, as well as cloaks and ball-dresses for the wintertime. To entice the ILN’s readers further, the advert promised that the catalogue integrated designs and clothing images of “extraordinary and unprecedented variety”.
Readers of this particular ILN edition would have already been familiar with the latest bonnet and cap trends—amidst the previous pages there was a whole page devoted to illustrations of different bonnet styles for various times of the day. Victorian women would be used to changing their attire depending on the situation—the illustrations show bonnets for the morning and smaller evening options, as well as one lined with rich brown cashmere. Images of walking dresses for the season included one with iron-grey satin and layers of velvet to keep the winter chill out. Yet the advertisement in this week’s image went even further—the catalogue also featured enticing designs for the much grander “ROYAL BALL-DRESS”, perfect for any Christmas party or festive occasion. Examples of these wintertime fashions and styles would go on to form the very images we hold today of Victorian Christmas in Britain, even if we have stopped wearing cashmere trimmed bonnets through December.
Where to find this document
This piece comes from our primary source collection, The Illustrated London News, 1842–2003. Consisting of over 250,000 images, it brings together editions of the ILN that were published weekly to large readership and huge popularity across Britain through the 1800s and into the twentieth century. The periodical covered a range of topics, including everyday local and national news, global stories, reports on Britain’s royal family, short fictional tales, and cultural items, such as fashion stories. These were all accompanied by graphic drawings to illustrate what was being written on the page. The ILN is one of the most important cultural periodical productions in British history. Visit the collection page to learn more.