Jody Gayle is the
editor/designer of Fashions in the Era of Jane Austen, and it is solely through her efforts that this wonderful resource is
now available both electronically and as an oversized paperback with hundreds
of color illustrations.
Cheryl Bolen: Thank you, Jody, for being our guest today, and thank you
for introducing a whole new generation (and more) to Ackermann's Repository. First,
will you tell us what Ackermann's
Repository was?
The Ackermann’s
Repository of the Arts was a monthly British periodical published from
1809-1829 by Rudolph Ackermann. It was a
highly popular nineteenth-century publication devoted to the study of the arts,
literature, commerce, manufacturing, politics and fashion. I believe a contemporary example could be a
monthly version of the New York Times
with somewhere between 60-80 pages.
However, the Repository of the
Arts included a significant amount of information provided by the readers
including personal letters, poems, opinion pieces and general articles.
Each monthly issue contained several illustrations produced
by artists using a technique called etching. Two of the illustrations were
always hand-painted prints normally featuring the whole body of a woman dressed
in the latest fashions. Every fashion
print included a detailed description of the type of clothing shown, its style,
cut, trim, color, type of fabric and the accompanying accessories.
Cheryl Bolen: In compiling your
book, why did you make the decision to reproduce all the illustrations with the
exact same language that was used in their original publication?
There were a couple reasons why it was important to include
the language of the time to accompany the fashion plates. When I began my research I found books with
tons of beautiful fashion prints. Then I
began reading Ackermann’s Repository that included the descriptions and
discovered a whole new dimension and depth to the illustrations. It seemed sad that the words of the past were
being forgotten and I felt there would be others who might like to read the
descriptions. Plus, I wanted to provide
a convenient means for scholars and authors to access this information. There are over 240 issues of Ackermann’s
Repository and over 16,000 pages! It can
take months to research or find all the fashion prints.
Cheryl Bolen: Can you describe for
us the some of the steps you had to take in order to produce your incomparable
work?
Just a few years ago I worked for a local newspaper company
and they also published a bridal magazine so I had some idea of the process of
printing and design. I was able to
publish my book due to the fantastic program through Amazon. It allows authors to self-publish their own
digital and paperback books but then every little detail and decision has to be
made by the author without the assistance of a publishing house.
I began by contacting the Philadelphia
Museum of Art Library for the permission to use their copies of Ackermann’s
Repository of Arts. Then I spent my
time searching, scanning, and organizing the illustrations and then searching,
typing and organizing all of the text.
Developing the organization system was crucial to keep the illustrations
and the accompanying descriptions straight.
I had to be meticulous since one of my goals was to provide a resource
to scholars and authors. Everything had
to be exactly right and accurate. There
wasn’t an easy way to accomplishing this task other than pure determination and
hard work. Then I had the whole book
professionally proofread and compared to the original documents.
The Kindle book was designed by me but I paid an experienced
company to format the book but for future projects I can format the book
myself. A critical decision in designing
the paperback book was choosing the size of the book. This decision impacted everything from the
fashion plate quality and detail, the book design, and ultimately the price of
the book and shipping costs. In the end
I chose the largest book size available and the size is similar to a
textbook.
Cheryl Bolen: Just how many pages
are in your book, and how many illustrations?
Well, since you asked I counted and there are 291
illustrations and 376 total pages. When
I first uploaded my book to Amazon it was too many pages and I had to redesign
the book so some of the illustrations included the descriptions on the same
page. When you purchase the Kindle
version there is a note to readers that due to its large file size, this book
may take longer to download. Fashions in the Era of Jane Austen are
the fashion plates from 1809 to 1820. My
next project will contain the next nine years I was unable to include in the in
the first book. I am having a difficult
time deciding on a title.
Cheryl Bolen: Thank you, Jody, for visiting with us -- and for making this fabulous resource available to us.
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