OUR PATTERNS.—Ladies do not seem to be aware that these patterns are fac-similes of the originals in color, trimming, &c. At a distance, they would be taken for the garment itself. They could be worn in a tableau without being detected.
WE do not doubt it, but wishing the ladies to be fully convinced about the superiority of our fashion plates, we will trouble them to read the following notices: The "St. Clair Observer" says: "The colored fashion plates, and Godey is the only man in the Union that gives them, are magnificent and reliable." The "Fort Plain Phœnix" says: "His fashion plate is the most exquisite one we ever saw." The "Crescent Eagle" says: "The fashion plate is the best that we have ever seen." The "Ohio Register" says: "Its fashion plates are ahead of any we have ever seen." That settles the question; if not, we have some five hundred more notices to the same effect.
"THE beautiful engraving of 'Christ Healing the Sick' is unparalleled in the history of magazine plates. Among the crowd of readers who carelessly glance at such an engraving, but few there are who appreciate the vast amount of thought and labor expended by none but first-rate artists upon it, and the consequent outlay on the part of a generous publisher in freely offering such gems of art to the public. The fruit of months, nay, sometimes years, of unmitigated toil, taxing the eyes and brain, are thus laid before and received by the masses, without a thought on the part of the latter as to what it cost to furnish the feast."
The foregoing is from the Louisville "Great Valley Trader," a paper of immense circulation in Louisville, Ky. How true are the remarks! To engrave the plate mentioned would take one man, and he must be an excellent artist, at least four months, working eight hours a day, which are about as many hours as an engraver can work. By the time the plate reached us it cost nearly $500. It took four months steady work to print our edition, at a cost of $375; the paper cost $200. To sum up, it was eight months from the time that the engraver took the plate in hand before we could place it before our subscribers, and the whole cost of this one embellishment was $1,075. This is only one item of the expense of a number of the "Lady's Book." Our business, it will be perceived, requires us to look ahead. Eight months is a long time to wait for one engraving.
CORRECTION.—In our April number, we stated that the price of mantilla patterns was $1. It should have been 62½ cents. We can supply patterns of all the dress articles we publish, jewelry, and almost every article for a lady's toilet, dress, etc. Our orders last month were very large.
MONTESQUIEU says: "I never listen to calumnies, because, if they are untrue, I run the risk of being deceived, and, if they be true, of hating persons not worth thinking about."