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(French, active mid-19th century)
Châle en Cachemire des Magasins Biétry et Cie. (Cashmere shawl from Bietry’s), 19th century
Lithograph
Gift of Eugene L. Garbaty, 1951.86.13
Fashion accessories were important markers of a woman’s standing and respectability. Proper ladies would not be seen in public, for example, without a hat and gloves. Another fashion accessory that received a great deal of attention at this time was the cashmere shawl. Authentic Indian cashmere was a sign of wealth and social standing associated with the bridal trous-seau. A woman who wore a real cashmere shawl was taken to be a respectable, married woman: a woman of virtue. A lorette or aspiring courtesan dreamed of the day her lover and benefactor would offer her a real cashmere shawl to replace the cheap French merino wool knockoff that was within her working class budget. This is exactly what Jacques Arnoux does for his lorette lover Rosanette in Flaubert’s Sentimental Education (1869), much to the chagrin of his wife, who discovers the receipt. This print is an ad for Biétry and Sons, Pur-veyors of Cashmere Shawls and Fabrics.
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The Human Comedy: Chronicles of 19th-Century France
Châle en Cachemire
Kerven (French, active mid-19th century) Châle en Cachemire des Magasins Biétry et Cie. (Cashmere shawl from Bietry’s), 19th century Lithograph Gift of Eugene L. Garbaty, 1951.86.13
Fashion accessories were important markers of a woman’s standing and respectability. Proper ladies would not be seen in public, for example, without a hat and gloves. Another fashion accessory that received a great deal of attention at this time was the cashmere shawl. Authentic Indian cashmere was a sign of wealth and social standing associated with the bridal trous-seau. A woman who wore a real cashmere shawl was taken to be a respectable, married woman: a woman of virtue. A lorette or aspiring courtesan dreamed of the day her lover and benefactor would offer her a real cashmere shawl to replace the cheap French merino wool knockoff that was within her working class budget. This is exactly what Jacques Arnoux does for his lorette lover Rosanette in Flaubert’s Sentimental Education (1869), much to the chagrin of his wife, who discovers the receipt. This print is an ad for Biétry and Sons, Pur-veyors of Cashmere Shawls and Fabrics.