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Apparel arts/esquire drawings from the 1930's

Phil

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I am a huge fan of these old drawings, and have seen many in Flusser's books and some other places. Would anyone have any idea where to acquire prints of them? I have checked the usual suspects - ebay, google, etc, and turned up nothing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

Phil

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thanks for the advice, i just checked it out. they have some interesting drawings under vintage clothes. If anyone else has some more suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. What I am really looking for is a coffee table book that houses the whole collection of the drawings, so I can give it as a gift.
 

kidkim2

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Phil--

If you're talking about the brilliant fashion illustrators "L. Fellows" and/or Leslie Saalburg, I have plenty of information for you.  (I assume you know about Hochswender's book "Men in Style," a veritable anthology of Laurence Fellows' work.)

I have about eighty Fellows Xerox prints, as well as a number of the '30's Esquire fashion plates from which they have been taken. These can be made available to you.

I wish I had more time to respond (Fellows is a major enthusiasm of mine.) but right now I've got to don my medium grey SB Brioni, blue windowpane tattersall MTM "Fitwell" spread collar shirt, dark blue polka-dot Armani tie, and black J&M handmades for lunch at Campton Place.

More to come.

Regards,

Mike
 

Phil

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Mike-

No, am unaware of the book you speak of. I only know about these great drawings from paging through Flusser's book and a recent post on Ask Andy, that had some great scans. I will certainly check out Men in Style though. Thanks for the info.
 

Phil

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Just found out Men in Style is out of print. Guess im gonna have to hit some used bookstores in NYC to track it down. sounds like its exactly what i am looking for though.
 

masterfred

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Phil, the "Men in Style" book is delightful, but it's only a small volume; I don't recall how many pages. If you live in NYC, check out the public library for copies of the 1930s-era Esquires. I don't know if you check out the "Ask Andy" forum, but several Fellows illustrations were recently posted there under the "Single-breasted, peaked lapel" topic.

Kidkim2, where did you get the prints and plates? I mentioned this on "Ask Andy," but I recently approached Vintage Arte about possibly reprinting large-size reproductions of Fellows and Saalburg's stuff. If they had enough interest, perhaps they'd pursue it.
 

kidkim2

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Phil--Back from San Francisco--somewhat the worse for wear--I'm ready to give you whatever help I can with L. Fellows, et al.  What else would you expect from their head cheerleader.

First, as to "Men in Style" (Subtitle, "The Golden Age of Fashion from Esquire."  Author, Woody Hochswender.  Editor, Kim Johnson Gross.  Published by Rizzoli in 1993.):                   As far as I know, the book has not been reprinted.  Its 112 pages (6 3/4" by 9 3/4" format) contain fifty or so Esquire fashion plates, about half in color, many (but not all) from the '30's.  (These dates are important, for IMHO Fellows' standards--and those of men's fashion in general--declined precipitously with the onset of WW II.) Sixteen are color illustrations by Fellows.  About an equal number are black and white Fellows plates.  The rest are by Saalburg, Hurd, and others.

Copies of this book, when available, fetch about $100, a considerable premium over the original price at publication.  They are becoming more and more rare, in part because many copies have been disassembled, the Fellows plates then carted off to local frame shops.  (Great decorations for male bedrooms or walk-in closets.)

If you want to secure a copy of "Men in Style," I would direct you not to local bookstores but rather to the net.  Copies appear from time to time on abebooks, the used and rare book megasite.  Happy hunting.  (And if you find a lead to orginal Fellows art, please clue me in.)

masterfred--My c. 60  Xerox copies of Fellows' work came (at a cost of $3 a piece) from a fellow enthusiast I met through eBay.  Regrettably, the copies show a discernable "red shift" and thus are not really frameable.  If you--or anyone else--is/are interested, I will find out whether my source is willing to have his address posted here on Style Forum. (Is that sort of thing permitted here?)  If copies are no longer available through him, I will be happy to do what I can to help out.

More to come.

Mike
 

Duveen

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Hi kabert, My guess is that you are living the same dream that I did. Â I ordered it from Amazon.ca and from Biggerbooks (both found via fetch) and in the end (of course) neither actually had it in stock. Â We'll see if Powell's, which I think of as more reliable, actually delivers... If you do get a copy, good on ya. *Edit: I checked Powell's and they did indeed have a used copy, and one that had disappeared when I tried to order it. Do tell me if it comes in (lucky.&#33
wink.gif
 

esquire.

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I think the NYC library system would be one of the few place you could find it. I've checked the libraries nearby, both the main city ones and the colleges and the oldest magazines have is from the 70s on microfilm. I don't think most libraries would carry due to the limited space.
 

kidkim2

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Gentlemen--

My mistake.  While abebooks is a perfectly good site for used and rare books, the megasite of choice, the one I meant to recomend, is AddALL.  (I don't have the complete address, but you can get there in a jiffy through Google.)

Right now, two copies of "Men in Style" are listed, one for $155 and the other (yes, from Powell's) for--if you believe it--ten paltry simoleons.

Well, I don't.  Believe it, that is.  But as Grampa used to wheeze, "I came to scoff and stayed to admire."  

Anyone who can score a copy of this book--in practically any condition--for a sawbuck and change is ready for the bargain hunter big leagues.

Mike
 

Phil

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Thanks for the advice, I just ordered one from ecampus (which claims the book is new, but id like to see that for myself). On the site Kabert recommended there were several links for the book, most said it was out of stock, but a few claim to have it. It should be shipping within the next few days, I will let you know if I receive it, and if it is, in fact, new.
 

Phil

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I ordered it from ecampus, but now I am worried that they dont actually have it. I didnt see the link to powells. Did they sell out at Powells, and that is why its not coming up on the link Kabert gave me?
 

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