Illustrated Evening Lecture by Dr. Barbara Steingießer

Published between 1786 and 1827 by Friedrich Justin Bertuch in Weimar, the Journal of Luxury and Fashion was not only Germany’s first illustrated magazine but also its first regularly appearing fashion periodical. Yet its scope extended far beyond fashion. In a groundbreaking blend of text and image, it reported not only on the latest women’s and men’s fashions from Paris, London, Vienna, Italy, and major German cities and spa resorts, but also served as a lifestyle magazine.

True to the plural form Moden (from the French mode: style), the journal did not confine itself to clothing, hairstyles, and cosmetics. It also covered objects and activities that were fashionable at the time. Readers could discover trends in table culture, interior design, and garden architecture, learn about the newest carriages and sleds, explore literature and theater, and read about glamorous social and political events, travel, and faraway countries. Remarkably, games featured prominently in the magazine – unsurprising given that around 1800, “reading mania” and “gaming mania” were seen as “the two furies of luxury.”

Dr. Barbara Steingießer is curator at the Goethe Museum Düsseldorf / Anton and Katharina Kippenberg Foundation. In 2022, marking Friedrich Justin Bertuch’s 275th birthday and the 200th anniversary of his death, she curated a widely acclaimed exhibition on the Journal of Luxury and Fashion and published a richly illustrated companion volume.

With: Dr. Barbara Steingießer

Free Admission
Wiepersdorf - Bettina-von-Arnim-Straße 13, 14913 Niederer Fläming

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