Costume Collection

Costume is a word with roots in French (costume), Italian (costume) and Latin (costuma) that refers tot the dress or clothing, especially the distinctive clothing worn at different periods by different peoples or different classes of people.

The word appears in English in the 18th century, and was first applied to the correct representation, in literature and art, of the manners, dress, furniture and general surroundings of the scene represented. By the early part of the 19th century it became restricted to the fashion or style of personal apparel, including the head-dresses, jewelry and the like.

Many illustrated works from the 16th through 20th centuries focused on the costume of various cultures around the globe. Some of these represented works which were solely collections of costumes from entire cultures while others were illustrated works of travelers and adventurers who illustrated the people they met along the way.

These works provide priceless insight into the culture and dress of many long disappeared cultures and are very common. Next to scenery and landscape views, costumes are one of the most popular illustrations to be included in old books. This is likely because they were much cheaper to make; requiring far less materials and labor to produce each image than a vivid scenery view. Our collections on costume display the evolution of clothes and dress of a myriad of cultures spanning multiple centuries.

References:

1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volume 7. pg 224-248

Available Books

Book Title	Date
A Brief History of Ancient and Modern India	1828
A Collection of Swiss Costumes	1822
A Gallery of Heroes and Heroines	1915
A History of Costume	1930
A History of Madeira	1821
A Journey from India to England	1818
A Journey through Albania, and other Provinces of Turkey	1813
A Narrative of the Mission to the Court of Ava	1858
A New Voyage Round the World Vol. 1	1830
A New Voyage Round the World Vol. 2	1830
A Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul, and Afghanistan	1840
A Picturesque Representation of the Russians Vol. 1	1803
A Picturesque Representation of the Russians Vol. 2	1804
A Picturesque Representation of the Russians Vol. 3	1804
A Pilgrimage to Italy	1899
A Residence of Eight Years in Persia	1843
A Summer in Western France	1841
A Voyage in the West Indies	1820
A Voyage of Discovery, into the South Sea and Beering's Straits Vol. 1	1821
A Voyage of Discovery, into the South Sea and Beering's Straits Vol. 2	1821
A Voyage of Discovery, into the South Sea and Beering's Straits Vol. 3	1821
A Voyage to Africa	1821
A Year on the Punjab Frontier Vol. 1	1851
A Year on the Punjab Frontier Vol. 2	1851
Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains Vol. 1	1823
Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains Vol. 2	1823
Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains Vol. 3	1823
Africa, Being an Accurate Description	1670
Album Pintoresco de la Republica Mexicana	1850
Algiers: Being a Complete Picture of the Barbary States	1817
America: Being an Accurate Description of the Nevv VVorld	1670
An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul Vol. 1	1839
An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul Vol. 2	1839
Asiatic Costumes	1828
Constantinople Ancient and Modern	1797
Cosmorama : A View of the Costumes and Peculiarities of all Nations	1827
Costumes Civils, Militaires et Religieux du Mexique	1828
Costumes Civiles Vol. 1 - Europe	1788
Costumes Civiles Vol. 2 - Asie	1788
Costumes Civiles Vol. 3 - Afrique	1788
Costumes Civiles Vol. 4 - Amerique	1788
Costumes du Bresil	1820
Costumes, Moeurs et Usages des Algeriens	1837
Costumes of the Canary Islands	1829
Cutch; or, Random Sketches	1839
Damascus and Palmyra Vol. 1	1838
Damascus and Palmyra Vol. 2	1838
De Kaffers aan de Zuidkust van Afrika	1810
Die Serben an der Adria	1870
Die Völker der Erde nach ihrer Eigenthümlichkeit in Regierungsform	1859
Drevnosti Rossiiskago Gosudarstva	1853
Elbicei atika : Musee des Anciens Costumes Turcs de Constantinople	1855
Erdumsegelung der Königl. Schwedischen Fregatte Eugenie	1856
Excursions in Madeira and Porto Santo	1825
Geographie Vivante, ou, Tableaux Raisonnes	1821
Germany, Painted and Described	1912
Head-Hunters of Borneo	1882
Histoire de l'Egypte sous le Gouvernement de Mohammed-Aly [Atlas]	1823
Histoire de l'Egypte sous le Gouvernement de Mohammed-Aly Vol. 1	1823
Histoire de l'Egypte sous le Gouvernement de Mohammed-Aly Vol. 2	1823
History of the Indian Archipelago Vol. 1	1820
History of the Indian Archipelago Vol. 2	1820
History of the Indian Archipelago Vol. 3	1820
History of the Indian Tribes of North America Vol. 1	1838
History of the Indian Tribes of North America Vol. 2	1838
History of the Indian Tribes of North America Vol. 3	1844
Illustrations of Japan	1822
Italian Scenery	1806
Itinerario, Voyage Ofte Schipvaert, van Ian Huygen van Linschoten	1596
Jamaica, Painted and Described	1906
Journal of a Cruise Among the Islands of the Western Pacific	1853
Journal of a Residence in Circassia Vol. 1	1840
Journal of a Residence in Circassia Vol. 2	1840
Journal of a Residence in the Burmhan Empire	1821
Journal of a Ten Months' Residence in New Zealand	1823
Journal of a Tour in Iceland in the Summer of 1809	1811
Journal of a Tour in the Levant Vol. 1	1820
Journal of a Tour in the Levant Vol. 2	1820
Journal of a Tour in the Levant Vol. 3	1820
Journey from Riga to the Crimea	1827
La Chine : Moeurs, Usages, Costumes Vol. 1	1825
La Chine : Moeurs, Usages, Costumes Vol. 2	1825
La Dalmazia Descritta	1846
La Russie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, et Costume Vol. 1	1813
La Russie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, et Costume Vol. 2	1813
La Russie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, et Costume Vol. 3	1813
La Russie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, et Costume Vol. 4	1813
La Russie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, et Costume Vol. 5	1813
La Russie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, et Costume Vol. 6	1813
La Suisse Historique et Pittoresque Vol. 1	1855
La Suisse Historique et Pittoresque Vol. 2	1855
L'antica Roma, Ovvero, Descrizione Storica e Pittorica	1825
L'antique Rome, ou, Description Historique et Pittoresque	1796
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Afrique] Vol. 1	1815
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Afrique] Vol. 2	1819
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Amerique] Vol. 1	1820
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Amerique] Vol. 2	1821
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Asie] Vol. 1	1815
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Asie] Vol. 2	1817
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Asie] Vol. 3	1817
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Asie] Vol. 4	1818
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 1, Pt. 1	1817
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 1, Pt. 2	1823
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 1, Pt. 3	1823
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 2	1820
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 3, Pt. 1	1823
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 3, Pt. 2	1823
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 4	1824
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 5	1825
Le Costume Ancien et Moderne [Europe] Vol. 6	1827
Le Japon, ou Moeurs, Usages et Costumes Vol. 1	1818
Le Japon, ou Moeurs, Usages et Costumes Vol. 2	1818
Le Japon, ou Moeurs, Usages et Costumes Vol. 3	1818
Le Japon, ou Moeurs, Usages et Costumes Vol. 4	1818
L'Egypte et la Syrie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, Costumes Vol. 1	1814
L'Egypte et la Syrie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, Costumes Vol. 2	1814
L'Egypte et la Syrie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, Costumes Vol. 3	1814
L'Egypte et la Syrie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, Costumes Vol. 4	1814
L'Egypte et la Syrie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, Costumes Vol. 5	1814
L'Egypte et la Syrie, ou, Moeurs, Usages, Costumes Vol. 6	1814
Letters from Buenos Ayres and Chili	1819
Letters Written in a Mahratta Camp	1813
L'Illyrie et la Dalmatie, ou, Moeurs, Usages et Costumes Vol. 1	1815
L'Illyrie et la Dalmatie, ou, Moeurs, Usages et Costumes Vol. 2	1815
Line of March of a Bengal Regiment of Infantry	1840
Memoir Descriptive of the Resources, Inhabitants, and Hydrography, of Sicily	1824
Mexico y sus Alrededories	1869
Moeurs, Usages et Costumes de Tous les Peuples du Monde Vol. 1	1843
Moeurs, Usages et Costumes de Tous les Peuples du Monde Vol. 2	1844
Moeurs, Usages et Costumes de Tous les Peuples du Monde Vol. 3	1844
Moeurs, Usages et Costumes de Tous les Peuples du Monde Vol. 4	1843
Museum de la Jeunesse	1809
Napoléon Ier et son Temps	1888
Narrative, of a Five Years Expedition Vol. 1	1796
Narrative, of a Five Years Expedition Vol. 2	1796
Narrative of a Journey to the Zoolu Country	1836
Narrative of a Pedestrian Journey through Russia and Siberian Tartary	1825
Narrative of a Visit to Brazil, Chile, Peru, and the Sandwich Islands	1825
Narrative of a Visit to the Court of Sinde	1839
Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal	1818
Naufrage de la Fregate la Meduse	1818
New Russia. Journey from Riga to the Crimea	1823
North American Indians Vol. 1	1913
North American Indians Vol. 2	1913
Notes Relating to the Manners and Customs of the Crim Tatars	1821
Old and New Japan	1907
Om Lappland och Lapparne, företrädesvis de Svenske	1873
Oriental Drawings	1806
Peeps at Many Lands: Norway	1909
Personal Observations on Sindh	1843
Picturesque Representations of the Austrians	1814
Picturesque Representations of the English	1813
Picturesque Representations of the Russians	1814
Porte-Feuille Geographique et Ethnographique [Atlas]	1820
Portraits of the Princes and People of India	1844
Portugal Illustrated : In a Series of Letters	1828
Puteshestvie po vostochnoi Sibiri	1856
Recueil de Cent Estampes Representant Differentes Nations du Levant	1714
Recuerdos de la Monarquia Peruana	1850
Recuerdos de Lima	1857
Recuerdos del Rio de la Plata	1841
Reise in das innere Nord-America Vol. 3	1839
Reise in das innere Nord-America Vol. 4	1839
Reize naar de Oost- en Westkust van Zuid-Amerika Vol. 1	1835
Reize naar de Oost- en Westkust van Zuid-Amerika Vol. 2	1835
Reize naar de Oost- en Westkust van Zuid-Amerika Vol. 3	1835
Report Upon the Colorado River of the West	1861
Rerum et Urbis Amstelodamensium Historia	1611
Russia: Being a Complete Picture of that Empire	1817
Russia: or, Miscellaneous Observations	1833
Russian Cries	1809
Scenery, Costumes and Architecture, Chiefly on the Western Side of India	1826
Scenery, Inhabitants, & Costumes, of Afghaunistan	1848
Schetsen van Afrika's Westkust	1861
Service and Adventure with the Khakee Ressalah	1858
Sketches from Nipal Vol. 1	1880
Sketches from Nipal Vol. 2	1880
Sketches Illustrating the Manners & Customs of the Indians	1842
Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes	1827
Sketches of Character in Jamaica	1837
Sketches of Corsica	1825
Sketches of Portuguese Life	1826
Sketches of Portugal and Spain	1809
South Australia Illustrated	1847
St. Kilda: Past and Present	1878
The Sundhya, or, the Daily Prayers of the Brahmins	1851
Switzerland, as Now Divided into Nineteen Cantons	1815
Switzerland: It's Scenery and People	1881
Tagebuch einer Reise vom Mississippi	1858
The Aboriginal Port Folio	1836
The American Aboriginal Portfolio	1853
The Armies of India, Painted and Described	1911
The Chinese Opium Smoker	1875
The Chinese Opium Smoker	1881
The Civil War in West Virginia	1862
The Costume of China	1800
The Costume of China	1805
The Costume of Hindostan	1804
The Costume of Indostan	1804
The Costume of the Hereditary States of the House of Austria	1804
The Costume of the Inhabitants of Russia	1809
The Costume of the Russian Army	1807
The Costume of the Russian Empire	1803
The Costume of the Russian Empire	1811
The Costume of Turkey	1802
The Court of Napoleon	1857
The European in India	1813
The Highlands of Aethiopia Vol. 1	1844
The Highlands of Aethiopia Vol. 2	1844
The Highlands of Aethiopia Vol. 3	1844
The History of the First United States Flag	1878
The Indian Tribes of Guiana	1868
The Kafirs Illustrated in a Series of Drawings	1849
The Kingdom and People of Siam Vol. 1	1857
The Kingdom and People of Siam Vol. 2	1857
The Knights Templars	1874
The Military Costume of Turkey	1818
The Moslem Noble	1857
The New Zealanders Illustrated	1847
The Northern Circuit	1862
The Oriental Album	1862
The People of Egypt	1910
The People of Holland	1910
The People of India	1910
The Present State of Peru	1805
The Present State of the Ottoman Empire	1668
The Progress of Her Majesty Queen Victoria	1844
The Punishments of China	1801
The Republican Court	1855
The Republican Court	1867
The Rhone, the Darro, and the Guadalquivir	1843
The Royal Navy, Painted and Described	1907
The Snake-Dance of the Moquis of Arizona	1884
The Song of the Ancient People	1893
The United States of the World	1902
The West Indies, Painted and Described	1905
The World in Miniature: Africa Vol. 1	1821
The World in Miniature: Africa Vol. 2	1821
The World in Miniature: Africa Vol. 3	1821
The World in Miniature: Africa Vol. 4	1821
The World in Miniature: Asiatic Islands & New Holland Vol. 1	1824
The World in Miniature: Asiatic Islands & New Holland Vol. 2	1824
The World in Miniature: Austria Vol. 1	1823
The World in Miniature: Austria Vol. 2	1823
The World in Miniature: China Vol. 1	1823
The World in Miniature: China Vol. 2	1823
The World in Miniature: England, Scotland & Ireland Vol. 1	1827
The World in Miniature: England, Scotland & Ireland Vol. 2	1827
The World in Miniature: England, Scotland & Ireland Vol. 3	1827
The World in Miniature: England, Scotland & Ireland Vol. 4	1827
The World in Miniature: Hindoostan Vol. 1	1822
The World in Miniature: Hindoostan Vol. 2	1822
The World in Miniature: Hindoostan Vol. 3	1822
The World in Miniature: Hindoostan Vol. 4	1822
The World in Miniature: Hindoostan Vol. 5	1822
The World in Miniature: Hindoostan Vol. 6	1822
The World in Miniature: Illyria & Dalmatia Vol. 1	1821
The World in Miniature: Illyria & Dalmatia Vol. 2	1821
The World in Miniature: Japan	1823
The World in Miniature: Netherlands	1823
The World in Miniature: Persia Vol. 1	1822
The World in Miniature: Persia Vol. 2	1822
The World in Miniature: Persia Vol. 3	1822
The World in Miniature: Russia Vol. 1	1823
The World in Miniature: Russia Vol. 2	1823
The World in Miniature: Russia Vol. 3	1823
The World in Miniature: Russia Vol. 4	1823
The World in Miniature: South Sea Islands Vol. 1	1824
The World in Miniature: South Sea Islands Vol. 2	1824
The World in Miniature: Spain & Portugal Vol. 1	1825
The World in Miniature: Spain & Portugal Vol. 2	1825
The World in Miniature: Switzerland	1823
The World in Miniature: Tibet & India Beyond the Ganges	1824
The World in Miniature: Turkey Vol. 1	1821
The World in Miniature: Turkey Vol. 2	1821
The World in Miniature: Turkey Vol. 3	1821
The World in Miniature: Turkey Vol. 4	1821
The World in Miniature: Turkey Vol. 5	1821
The World in Miniature: Turkey Vol. 6	1821
Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh; The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution Vol. 1	1866
Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh; The History of the Ti-Ping Revolution Vol. 2	1866
Tom Raw, the Griffin: a Burlesque Poem	1828
Toonneel van China	1668
Travelling Sketches in Russia and Sweden Vol. 1	1809
Travelling Sketches in Russia and Sweden Vol. 2	1809
Travels from India to England	1827
Travels in Circassia, Krim-Tartary &c	1839
Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia Vol. 1	1822
Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia Vol. 2	1822
Travels in India, including Sinde and the Punjab	1845
Travels in Kamtchatka and Siberia Vol. 1	1830
Travels in Kamtchatka and Siberia Vol. 2	1830
Travels Through Part of the Russian Empire	1815
Travels through Sicily, and the Lipari Islands	1827
Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America	1781
Travels to the Seat of War in the East	1830
Turkey, Russia, the Black Sea, and Circassia	1854
Twenty Four Plates Illustrative of Bengal	1832
Unprotected Females in Norway	1857
Viaggi nell'Africa Occidentale	1845
Viaje Pintoresco y Arqueolojico de la Republica Mejicana	1840
Views and Costumes of the City and Neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro	1822
Views in India, Chiefly Among the Neelgherry Hills	1837
Von der Ostsee bis zum Nordcap	1888
Voyage au Bresil Atlas	1822
Voyage dans l'Interieur de l'Amerique du Nord Atlas	1840
Voyage en Perse Vol. 1	1825
Voyage en Perse Vol. 2	1825
Narrative of a Voyage, in His Majesty's late ship Alceste	1818
Voyage Pittoresque dans le Bresil	1835
Voyage Pittoresque en Espagne et en Portugal	1852
Voyage Pittoresque en Suisse, en Savoie et sur les Alpes.	1851
Voyage Pittoresque et Archeologique du Mexique	1836
Voyage Pittoresque et Historique au Bresil Vol. 1	1834
Voyage Pittoresque et Historique au Bresil Vol. 2	1835
Voyage Pittoresque et Historique au Bresil Vol. 3	1839
Voyages and Travels to India, Ceylon, the Red Sea, Abyssinia, and Egypt Vol. 1	1809
Voyages and Travels to India, Ceylon, the Red Sea, Abyssinia, and Egypt Vol. 2	1809
Voyages and Travels to India, Ceylon, the Red Sea, Abyssinia, and Egypt Vol. 3	1809
Wanderings of a Pilgrim, in Search of the Picturesque Vol. 1	1850
Wanderings of a Pilgrim, in Search of the Picturesque Vol. 2	1850
Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of North America	1859
Western India, in 1838	1839