ERA Reviews

Fashion And Eroticism is not only a radical revision of our conventional understanding of Victorian fashion; it is also a major contribution to the history of women and sexuality. Steele offers a powerful and convincing new interpretation of the Victorian woman, who has traditionally been presented as strait-laced and prudish, her clothing an outward sign of her sexual repression and exploitation. Steele shows that the Victorians were, in fact, well aware that women had legs. Even the notorious corset was neither fetishistic nor an unhealthy instrument of torture, although its complex and ambivalent sexual symbolism aroused controversy.

Steele explodes the myth that progress triumphed over fashion. She explains how the twentieth century look of sexy, healthy beauty evolved from within the prewar world of fashion, and not as part of an anti fashion or dress reform movement. Her conclusions are based on prodigious documentary, visual, and material research (including the study of costume collections in the United States, great Britain, Europe, and even Japan), set within a sophisticated interpretive framework. Her use of psychoanalytic theory to explain the connection between fashion and eroticism is both lucid and persuasive, and her discussion of eroticism is sensible and precise, a far cry from the usual prurient and anecdotal histories of sexuality. Fashion And Eroticism approaches its subject from the perspective of the most recent work in women's history and concluded that fashion and feminism are by no means irreconcilable.

Valerie Steele received her Ph.D. in history from Yale University in 1983, and was the 1984 First Ladies Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution.

Concluding remarks on the book:
A person who looks to learn/discover the subject on future studies should begin with this book. As a reader, you will begin to discover the introduction of the subject, where it is today, and how people who actively pursue the subject combine/implement the study to everyday use. One important key to future study/alternative futures is the application of forecasting. The author offers a good overview on the subject. Today, forecasting is applied by many companies, corporations, and other institutions.

The book explains the history of the furniture and its development, with lots of anecdotes along the way. Through the many color photographs, you will learn how to spot specific types of furniture and get a better idea of which company might have manufactured a specific piece.

One of the topics addressed early in the book is the use of veneer. The authors explain that 'veneer' doesn't have to be a dirty word and that even the ancient Egyptians used a form of it. There is a section devoted to the repairing and replacing of veneer. They also provide detailed explanations for such terms as 'burl' and 'pollarding.' They explain the differences between better- and lesser-quality ('borax') furniture, and a pricelist (1999 values) is also included.

Mr. Williams documents the Georgia gold rush in an interesting and uncompromising style. So many myths surround this time frame in north Georgia's history. For example, Benjamin Parks is frequently credited with the first modern discovery of gold in Georgia, mostly because he claimed it to an Atlanta reporter fifty years later. Williams quickly disproves virtually all of Park's claims.

In the chapters titled "Gold Fever and the Great Intrusion" and "The Cherokee Nation Abandoned," Williams gives one of if not the most accurate concise histories of Cherokee Removal I have ever read.

Additional chapters review a miner's life, the people who made money (most weren't miners), and the end of the Georgia gold era in 1849.

This is a truly charming book, and I have obtained a lot of pleasure from it. It is filled with both black & white, and full color photos, as well as a few original ads from magazines. Many of the items are true collector pieces, and high-end, from hundreds to thousands of dollars: for example, Heisey's large amber "Flying Mare," which books at $2,200-$3,000, and L.E. Smith's green King Fish Aquarium, an enormous fish-shaped container valued at several hundred dollars (a shipping nightmare, I imagine!). Some pieces, such as Tiffin's crystal pheasant paperweight with controlled bubbles, are so rare that the authors are at a loss to put a price on them. Nevertheless, some of the smaller animal figurines are still widely available at inexpensive prices. This book is currently out of print, but available secondhand. The authors have done a fabulous job, and it is a must for collectors of collectible glass figurines.