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A young fashionable man shows a girl how to play with a Diabolo (Chinese yo-yo). Expertise on the Diabolo is now indispensable
Children building a house of cards on a table, 19th century. The mid-calf length dresses allow girls to run and romp, while the pantalons preserve their modesty
Shopgirls playing the game of a little bird told meA mistress of a clothes shop and her staff playing a game of a little bird told me. The women wear bonnets, aprons, and black dresses
Ladies playing badminton in a garden, 1817Elegant ladies or meveilleuses playing badminton in a garden. Several have their hair in the fashionable short cut known as the martyr or victime
Return from the masked ballReturn from the ball: a young man flirts with several women undressing after a costume ball. During carnival you must be especially vigilant, old husbands of young wives, outdated lovers
A meeting at a masquerade ballA meeting at a ball: A masked woman and Normandy girl flirt with a revolutionary man in bicorn and cockade, while a woman in drag as a Turkish man interrupts and a double bass player looks
Preparing for a masked ball, 1800sPreparations for a masquerade. We no longer see harlequins and pierrots at masked balls, but instead costumes of Switzerland and Normandy
Two merveilleuses with a fortune tellerTheir credulity is her only science. A fortune teller reads the cards for two credulous merveilleuses in shawls and turbans
Two pretty maids helping to dress two old cronesLa toilette: Two young women help older women with baby bonnets and false bosoms - while giving knowing looks to the viewer. Women of 19 and 20 are in open war with women of a certain age (30)
Merveilleuses eating ice cream at a Paris cafeFashionable women or merveilleuses eating ice cream with their dogs at a cafe, circa 1800. The menu includes lemon, orange, pistachio, and creme blanche
Titus hairstyles and cache-folie wigsTwo women at the hairdressers receiving the short haircut called the Titus (after the Roman emperor), while a stylist holds up a cache-folie wig
Visitors in PelissesGuests at a fashionable salon, all wearing extravagent fur-lined clothes, jackets, dresses and pelisses. By the early 19th century, fur lined and trimmed cloaks, coats and jackets were all the rage
Mother playing with baby and daughter in a gardenA young mother dandles a baby, while a little girl with a doll leans against her lap. A glance at these engravings is enough to see what one can say about this subject
Mother playing with daughters in a gardenA young mother dandles a girl on her foot, while her other child drops her toys to beg for a cuddle. A glance at these engravings is enough to see what one can say about this subject
Performing dogsA gentleman with a whip controls four dogs dancing on their hind legs dressed in the latest fashions on stage. The dog show continues to attract crowds at the Theatre Montansier in Versailles
Scene from La Marchande des ModesScene from Etienne Jouys 1808 play La Marchande des Modes, a parody of La Vestale (his own opera from 1807 with music by Spontini)
The Incomparable Ravel, French rope dancerThe incomparable Ravel, a guitar-playing French tightrope artist from the early 19th century, with two dancers on thick ropes
New Years GiftsA boy in dragoon uniform scrabbles for sweets under his fathers legs, while a baby plays with a puppet on his mothers lap. A black servant boy prays for a gift at left
Old woman giving a magic lantern showThe old style. An old woman showing a young dandy and merveilleuses old-fashioned scenes with a magic lantern. The images are artist without pretension, the studious young man
Shop girls preparing for bed. Wearing turbans, shawls and lowcut cotton nightshifts, four shopgirls relax before bed. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Cavalcade at Longchamp racetrackCavalcade de Longchamp. Two incroyables (fops) mounted on heavy dray horses instead of thoroughbreds at Longchamp racetrack
Shop girls dressing in the morning. Four shop girls dressing, fixing their hair in front of mirror, adjusting their stockings, playing with a cat. These little workers show such ingenious coquetry
Millinery shop workers. Women in lowcut muslin dresses trying on hats, holding a hat box, fixing feathers to a headdress and reading a notebook at the counter
Fabric shop workers. Women in muslin dresses, bonnets and shawls embroidering, sewing, cutting cloth and wrapping bolts of fabric
Three graces of the Ballet of **. Elegant ballet dancers in costume (one in turban and shawl, one with tambourine and dress decorated with flowers)
Two May-September couples dancing at a ballTwo May-September couples at a ball. The old and ugly partners have arranged the company of two young, good-looking escorts, who flirt with each other
Coryphees at a ball. Incroyables in jackets with outsize buttons and collars, long cravat, huge bicorn hat, and merveilleuses with decollete dresses and large lace collars
The problem with Capote bonnets: two womens deep-brimmed bonnets collide as they greet each other, while fashionable men watch
Fashionable couples dancing La SauteuseFashionable couples dancing la Sauteuse, a pair dance popular circa 1800. The man grips the woman around the waist, while jumping from foot to foot and spinning her around
Evening party at Coblentz (between rue Taitbout and rue Neuve-Lepelletier, Paris). A group of women and children (including a black woman)
Two incroyables (fops) with cudgels hinder the promenade of two merveilleuses by pinning the tails of their dresses. One looks back coquettishly at the ridiculous dandy
Fashionable dancers performing La Trenis, a country dance section in the popular quadrille created by the French dance master Trenitz
The bored women of Longchamp racetrack. Three fashionable bored women sit among a mountain of chairs as a maid clears them away
Miss Pastel and her motherMiss Pastel followed by her mother. A young beauty art student carries brushes, palette and canvas, while her mother in bonnet, shawl and gloves carries a heavy easel and stool
Three Parisian graces, circa 1800. Three unattractive maids wear the latest Paris fashions. Its certainly true that in fashion a servile herd of imitators abounds
Merveilleuses playing the game of blind mans buff. A blindfolded woman runs in a garden as one woman strokes her hand and another grabs her muslin dress
Merveilleuses playing the four corners game of tagThe four corners game of tag. Five merveilleuses in muslin dresses play the game of four corners, a version of tag. Illustration by Dominique Bosio
Choosing the jockey: Young woman in form-revealing dress and short martyr hairstyle seated on chaise longue pointing to a young man with a dog, while two older men and a black servant boy watch
Merveilleuses playing the game of La Main ChaudeLa main chaude or Paumele. Merveilleuses in flimsy muslin dresses play the game of hot hands. One girl buries her head in anothers lap, and has to guess which friend slaps her arm
Girls skipping in a park, early 19th centuryGirls playing the skipping game of Walking under the Arch, boy playing hoop, while another girl watches. Scene in a Paris park
A woman writes a letter on a somno in a messyA woman writes a letter on a somno (night table containing a chamberpot) with her feet on a pillow, while her dog chews a lace collar and a cat sleeps on her ballgown
Woman on a chaise longue looking at a new hatWoman on a chaise longue in fringed shawl admiring a new hat held by her milliner, while a maid holds a bottle of perfume. The best remedy, or the Longchamp hat
French and English women in similar fashionsMutual borrowing of fashions between French and English women, early 19th century. Both wear identical style bonnets, frilled dresses, shawls and spencer jackets
Miss Busk and Mr Corset at a dance party. Fashionable couple in tight corsets dancing at a ball. To appear slim, there are young men today who wear corsets like the women
The creole game or flying ring game, early 19thc centuryFashionable people playing the flying ring game or the creole game. When the Parisians adopted the game, it had to be embellished: so the ring was covered with ribbon, then rosettes, then bells
Merveilleuses playing badminton in a gardenBadminton. Merveilleuse in flimsy dresses play a game of badminton in a garden. Several have their hair in the fashionable short cut known as the martyr or victime
Three girls in mid-calf length dresses and pantalons dancing with a shawl. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Woman in a shop choosing a new dress, early 19th centuryWoman in a shop trying to decide which dress matches her new hat. A shopgirl holds a dress trimmed with flowers, and another with gauze frill