The London Lounge

Does anyone know if the new edition of Roetzal's book is worth buying when one has an older edition?

I found a copy at Borders book store today. I already have the first copy, but I brought this copy because there were some new photos in this book that aren't in the first one. Also I've built up a pretty big haberdashery book line up, so I figured why build up the collection. I'll go over the book tonight and give a report soon.

I can tell you right now that some of the mistakes from the first copy are still in this new book.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

Cufflink79 wrote:I found a copy at Borders book store today. I already have the first copy, but I brought this copy because there were some new photos in this book that aren't in the first one. Also I've built up a pretty big haberdashery book line up, so I figured why build up the collection. I'll go over the book tonight and give a report soon.

I can tell you right now that some of the mistakes from the first copy are still in this new book.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

Can you give some examples of the mistakes?

One big mistake was when he wrote about T&A and said they started in 1904.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

In a word, yes it's worth the purchase. It has a more photo's with additional and new information relative to places to shop, new companies that have been found since the 1st printing. I have a major library on the sartorial arts books. I'm missing for the record, the 3 volume Apparel Arts reprint. I've seen a copy at the Library of Congress a few years ago.

I read that a reprint was in the making of the Apparel Arts book...any word on that?

B-spkn2

As promised here is my review of the redone Gentleman’s book. Overall, it’s basically the same book as before with a few new items. These new items could have easily been added to the book the first time around. I’ve put a list together so you can compare and contrast.

P. 14 & 15
Old book: Display of shaving gear on bathroom sink.
New book: Display of shaving creams, soaps, and brushes as individual photos.

P. 18 & 19
Old book: Photos of two electric shavers
New book: Photos of four electric shavers

P. 21
Old book: Photo of bread trimming equipment.
New book: Photo of display case holding shaving razors, brushes, and pocketknives.

P. 25
Old book: Profiles how the south of France is home to many different scents for colognes.
New book: Profiles cologne brand Lorenzo Villoresi.

P. 30 & 31
Old book: Profiles tools and tonics for the hair.
New book: Profiles the same as mentioned above but has added shampoo to the scene.

P. 52 & 53
Old book: Profiles 12 collar styles.
New book: Profiles 17 collar styles.

P. 54 & 55
Old book: History of cotton.
New book: History of cotton and a profile on Alumo Swiss cotton.

P. 58 & 59
Old book: Profiles Jermyn Street and Milan fabric shop Telerie Spadari.
New book: Profiles Luigi Borrelli and Anna Matuozzo.

P. 74
Old book: Anatomy of a necktie with close up photos.
New book: No close up photos of the tie’s different parts.

P. 94 & 95
Old book: Profiles six Savile Row tailors.
New book: Profiles five tailors. (Tobias Tailors is gone from the list)

P. 102 & 103
Old book: Profile on Chester Barrie.
New book: Profile on Beckenstein Men’s Fabrics.

P. 109
Old book: Map of who’s who in tailored clothing in Italy.
New book: Profiles the quality of ready made Italian clothing.

P. 112 & 113
Old book: Profiles some of Brioni’s customers, and some of its history.
New book: Profiles Kiton.

P. 114 & 115
Old book: Photos to go with the text of different summer weight fabrics.
New book: No photos to go with text.

P. 126 & 127
Old book: Profiles the difference between a British sport coat and an American sport coat.
New book: Profile on Cesare Attolini. (One less picture of Woody Allen in the new book)

P. 170 & 171
Old book: Profile on English shoes with photo of Church’s shoe shop.
New book: Same as above but with photos of Church’s and Crockett & Jones shop.

P. 184 & 185
Old book: Profile on shoes with knobs on the bottom and overshoes.
New book: Profile on Hunter brand rubber boots.

P. 264 & 265
Old book: Profile on London’s Swaine, Adeney, & Brigg Umbrellas.
New book: Profile on Maglia Francesco Umbrellas in Italy.

P. 296 & 297
Old book: Profile on Missoni sweaters.
New book: Profile on the cashmere sweater.

P. 306 & 307
Old book: Profile of J.C. Cording of London.
New book: Profile of James Purdey of London.

Hope this helps out a bit.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

Bespoken2 wrote:In a word, yes it's worth the purchase. It has a more photo's with additional and new information relative to places to shop, new companies that have been found since the 1st printing. I have a major library on the sartorial arts books. I'm missing for the record, the 3 volume Apparel Arts reprint. I've seen a copy at the Library of Congress a few years ago.

I read that a reprint was in the making of the Apparel Arts book...any word on that?

B-spkn2

A question worth re-asking I think as plenty of members would like to obtain a copy and second-hand copies seem impossible to locate.

JRLT wrote:

Bespoken2 wrote:In a word, yes it's worth the purchase. It has a more photo's with additional and new information relative to places to shop, new companies that have been found since the 1st printing. I have a major library on the sartorial arts books. I'm missing for the record, the 3 volume Apparel Arts reprint. I've seen a copy at the Library of Congress a few years ago.

I read that a reprint was in the making of the Apparel Arts book...any word on that?

B-spkn2

A question worth re-asking I think as plenty of members would like to obtain a copy and second-hand copies seem impossible to locate.

I posed the question years ago and the best I could come up with was a couple of references that directed me to 2nd hand/out of print books. I hit a dead end, needless to say. If I had access to one copy and my trusty Xerox Digital color presses, [when I was in the employ of the State Dept., I would at the very least have captured the majority of the photographs digitally...]
The last mention of the Apparel Arts being worked on towards reissue was found in a copy of Classics (a now defunkt menswear magazine, published out of the Mid West??) ???. The 'correspondent' was writing from Britain. It seemed to indicate that it would be about a year away from seeing daylight.
I don't know who may own the copyright, but I am sure there would be a market for this to be published again.
Being though Esquire publishes 'The Big Black Book', which seems directed towards those who appreciate the sartorial arts to some extent, maybe they could perhaps at the very least publish the illustrations they prominently displayed thru out the 30's-50's in the magazine.

But, the AA book would be the epitome of that type of 'sartorial pictoral reference material' that is so desperately sought after.

Bspoken2

PS: While we're speaking of published sartorial publications, on my last visit to Amazon, there were pictures and descriptions of 2 new books I've not seen. I can't recall the titles, but they look to have something substantial to say and see. I believe one may have been written by Nick Fowlkes. Something about Suits?The other book was dealing with the subject matter of American menswear style...the book had a collage of pictures denoting various styles of american dress.

I remember speaking with manton about this a couple of years ago on a run to Tip-Top Fabrics in Brooklyn. I believe he said that he had looked into the copyright issue and that Conde Nast owned the AA / Esky copyrights. So for a publisher like Rizzoli to do another book would probably be very costly if CN wanted to price permissions to maximize the value of their asset (likely in this era), and CN itself did not seem to be developing any projects that would be likely to satisfy an audience of enthusiasts such as ourselves. The interest of a general audience in the material would probably be limited enough to make production costs for a new publication aimed at a general audience a bad bet.

For now, Etutee's invaluable scans and commentaries from his own collection in the featured posts on this site may be the closest we'll come, barring good luck in the hunt for the 3-vol reprint in the rare books market.

I had a quick look at the second edition and there is not a lot of new material. It is, considering the size and number of colour photographs, relatively cheap. Despite my reservations about some of the content, it remains an excellent introduction to stylish dressing. It would make an excellent Christmas present for a young relative or even colleague.