This February 1854 number of Godey’s Lady’s Book presents the celebrated magazine’s mix of hand-colored fashion plates, fiction, and domestic guidance. The plates show the winter styles in gowns, wraps, and bonnets favored by fashionable American women.
Under Sarah Josepha Hale, Godey’s shaped the taste of a generation of readers across the United States. Its detailed fashion plates remain valuable sources for costume historians. A rich snapshot of antebellum style, this issue is offered here as a free EPUB download. Beyond the plates, its fiction, music, and household notes round out a vivid portrait of antebellum feminine life and taste at mid-century.