The Taylor’s Complete Guide

Full title: The taylor’s complete guide, or, A comprehensive analysis of beauty and elegance in dress : containing rules for cutting out garments of every kind, and fitting any person with the greatest accuracy and precision, adapted to all sizes, pointing out, in the clearest manner, the former errors in the profession, and the method of rectifying what may have been done amiss … : to which is added, A description to cut out and make the patent elastic habits and cloaths, without the usual seams … / the whole concerted and devised by a society of adepts in the profession

This facsimile of a c. 1796 tailor’s manual is one of the earliest trade manuals published in England. Three fold out plates provide the reader with an overview of tailoring, a trade usually learned through observation and practice. The book is bound in a period marbled paper that comes with a nameplate along with directions and information about the binding process.

It’s interesting that the book references four fold out diagrams referred to as plates, A, B, C, and D. Once printing was complete, they found all the diagrams could fit onto only three fold out diagrams. Therefore, only three fold out diagrams are included. Whenever the text refers to plate C, it will be found by examining either plate B or D. An interesting oddity of early publishing.