Herbert Norris (–1950)

Poor old Norris - as remarked by another reviewer, once a definitive work, now thoroughly superseded. Thirty years ago, historical re-creationists were desperate to get their hands on a book that many now scorn. Yet I retain a lingering fondness for Norris; there are few sources that give, for example, brooch design, embroidery patterns, shoes, etc., all in one place. It's a good source to hand someone who wants to browse through a general overview of historical styles; once they've lit on show more something, they can be led to more current and specific information.

(Edited to correct typo.) show less

When I first got into Tudor era costuming, this book was an incredible find in our college library. Since those early years, and the greater information we have been able to uncover, and with the newer publications, this book has lost its glamor. He removed cod pieces from his redrawings. His pattern basics have not stood the test of actual recreation. There are aspects of this book that are still helpful or not covered in more recent books, and some images he redrew that have been found show more again, but for costuming in the Tudor period there are better books and far more images available to work with. show less

No, his scholarship doesn't match Janet Arnold's. Still, this is one of the most useful, broad-based compendiums on the Tudor era I've ever found. In addition to the costume and pattern drawings, it's chock full of historical snippets; names, dates and facts about key players; drawings for jewelry and other accessories; names of fabrics and their various colors; and much, much more. It even includes names, dates, spouses, offspring and mistresses of key continental monarchs and courts of the show more period. show less

If you aspire to strict historical accuracy in your costuming, be sure to support your facts with another resource as much of the illustrations in this book are re-drawings of the originals, and are somewhat lacking in accuracy. However, the historical information apart from the illustrations is pretty good, but lacks consistent sources.