Cashmere: A French Passion - 1800-1880

The delicate beauty of the cashmere shawl was first brought to Europe by the East India Companies and Napoleon's campaigns. Woven in Kashmir, its fabric was so light that, according to legend, a whole shawl could be passed through a finger ring. Exquisite and expensive, by the 19th century these shawls were highly sought-after in France; enterprising French manufacturers soon saw that there was a market for more accessibly priced versions and started to create their own. This revised edition of Monique Levi-Strauss's classic book on French cashmere shawls, originally published in 1987, features more than 250 illustrations of these beautiful garments, superbly photographed to showcase their splendid original designs, alongside a wealth of archive material and contemporary paintings that show them being worn by their elegant owners. This treasure trove of shawls will not only delight textile scholars and costume historians but appeal to anyone who loves beautiful accessories.