Dressing Up: The depiction of fashion in magazines in the 18th and 19th centuries with Professor Emeritus Chris Browne

The development of both men’s and women’s fashions from the later part of the 18^th century until the end of the 19^th century has been perhaps surprisingly well documented. Surviving colour lithographs and hand-coloured engravings can show us today what was in fashion at precise dates throughout that period. Many of these images are in good enough condition to allow them to be highly prized and sought after as examples of period art in their own right. Professor Browne will describe the history of these illustrations and the magazines that first published them in both England and France. One of the interesting elements of this history is the close relationship between English and French fashion for both men and women. The lecure will be illustrated by examples from his personal collection, some of which will be on display for direct inspection after the talk. 

Professor Emeritus Chris Browne is a retired medical researcher and academic who spent much of his childhood in British colonial Africa and the middle-east, before returning to the UK to attend school. After degrees from the Universities of York and Oxford, followed by five years in medical research at McGill University in Montreal in the late 1970s, he has spent most of his working life in the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University.

He has enjoyed reading from an early age, and became a serious book collector in 1970, and has put together, during the last 55 years, a personal library of around 15,000 books. His main interests are English literature and juvenilia from 1780 to 1940, fine illustrated books and the history of English publishing and printing. He is currently the Program Director of Melbourne Rare Book Week. Unsurprisingly, his main hobby is reading.

Your ticket includes tea or Market Lane coffee served before the lecture, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This lecture is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. NOTE: Tickets for this event do not include access to our exhibition-house, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This lecture has been generously supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Image: La Belle Assemblée, 17 June 1807. Collection of Professor Chris Browne.