Martin Simsa

It took a lot of work to obtain this book. It's only available from the museum that published it. To buy it one needs to put in an order on the museum's online store, which is in czech. (https://www.nulk.cz/obchod/knihy-krejcovskych-strrihu-ve-stredni-evrope-v-16-az-18-stoleti-i-martin-simsa/?fbclid=IwAR1VuzIx2vXhJJmUa-ElrjQ5w8ddPC3A_rRZ9MAjknEPHycQ4wC5f3GBmok). Once submitted, the museum emailed me an invoice with bank info and the total cost + shipping they required; I had to go to the bank with their invoice and set up a bank transfer, as that is the only method they have for international purchases.

But despite the fact that the cost of the bank transfer was more than the cost of the book + shipping, combined, the purchase was ABSOLUTELY worth EVERY bit of time, hassle and money it took to obtain. This is a huge book. It has full color facsimiles of over a dozen previously unpublished tailor's books from eastern Europe. All text is in both Czech and English; and the English translation, though whimsical at times, is clear and understandable.

The book contains patterns for:
tents of all kinds
academic robes/doctoral/masters' robes
military wear
monastic/liturgical wear, including patterns specifically for all main orders (cistercian, francisican, dominican, capuchin, etc) and nun's garments
civilian wear for both men and women: burghers' gowns, women's gowns and bodices and skirts
riding apparell
horse barding, blankets and decoration
flags

Every pattern is in color and has the original manuscript text of the pattern typed by it, as well as a translation and interpretation in czech and english.

This book is also a goldmine for those looking for additional previously unknown sources on historic costume. The bibliography is full of books written in polish, czech, hungarian and more that I had no idea existed.… (más)