1st edition of a facsimile reprint by Seth Sieglaub’s International General imprint, originally printed in Paris 1852-1854. A wide-ranging encyclopedic compilation containing thousands of detailled excerpts and scholarly references to the different types of luxury silk, gold and silver textiles and clothing used by the ruling classes during the middle ages. The descriptions are drawn from published and unpublished sources ranging from the sixth through the nineteenth century, and include excerpts from royal and church inventories, memoirs, literature and poetry, among other sources. Due to its scholarship & range of references it is still unsurpassed and remains an unrivalled source book for the study of the history of medieval fine textiles and clothing in Europe, the Islamic and Christian middle east, and especially, France.

*Please note this publication is secondhand and has some traces of previous ownership.

A comprehensive bibliography compiled by Seth Siegelaub, containing over 5,000 catalogued entries of books & articles, with a total of over 10,000 individual texts included in anthologies, reviews & magazines, published in all languages, mostly European (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish), 15th–20th century, treating all aspects of the history of handwoven textiles as art, craft, technology, industry & commerce. All entries are given with full author & title, edition, publisher, date & series title, with most provided with collations, & over 3,000 with a descriptive annotation, including a list of each text contained in anthologies, reviews & magazines. The work concludes with a detailed subject index of the most important books in each subject area.