The appearance of Racinet's History of World Costume between 1876 and 1888 was a landmark in publishing history: this six-volume classic was the first large-scale costume book to use high-quality color photography in the reproduction of its sumptuous lithographs. Somewhat eccentric in coverage, it encompassed Europe and lands from Japan to the Arctic Circle and North America but excluded the American colonies.
The appearance of Racinet's History of World Costume between 1876 and 1888 was a landmark in publishing history: this six-volume classic was the first large-scale costume book to use high-quality color photography in the reproduction of its sumptuous lithographs. Somewhat eccentric in coverage, it encompassed Europe and lands from Japan to the Arctic Circle and North America but excluded the American colonies.