#1960 $3,320
French Bonnes Herbes block printed wrap, c.1795-1800
The Bonnes Herbes or "fine grasses" designs first appeared in the Oberkampf textile mill at Jouy-en-Josas, near Versailles, in the late 18th century. A very close print date (1796) is documented by the Musée Oberkampf in Printed French fabrics/Toiles de Jouy by Josette Brédiff. Thus, the fabric of our cape indicates the date, but we cannot be sure whether it was produced at Jouy or in Alsace.
This cape is a special find for the collector of early cotton printed textiles. The gaily colored, naturalistic florals, set against dark green or black backgrounds with delicately drawn foliage, were instantly popular. They were copied by other French textile printers, especially in Alsace.
If you examine the 2nd picture from the bottom, you can understand the popularity of the Bonnes Herbes designs. The flowers are carefully drawn, though stylized. They are representative of familiar regional field flowers. (I counted at least six different flowers in the picture.) This appealed to urban women with their new found taste for the beauties of nature.
With the success of his tracts Julie and Émilie, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau must be given his share of credit for this hot fashion trend. This is perhaps the only time in history that a philosopher had a major influence on women's fashion!
The Bonnes Herbes designs were a big hit in large cities like Marseille and Paris. Here is a snapshot of an 18th century businessman, who views the Reign of Terror as just another business annoyance. The manager of the Jouy mill wrote that in 1795 "the merchants of Marseille were...eager to stock up on Jouy calico. During the slump caused by the Terror, in anticipation of their needs, we had manufactured a whole new range" of fabrics (p. 186 of Gottlieb Widmer's Mémorial de la manufacture de Jouy).
The hand sewn cape is fashioned with an upper self-lined layer that can be pulled over the head to form a hood. The rest of the cape is lined with a contrasting small print—see the bottom picture. The edges are all trimmed ruffles.
The condition is almost excellent. I found a small mend that gets lost in the busy print—you really have to look for it. One size fits all.
