Democratisation is the key word nowadays, especially in connection with fashion. But while in this case we are being sold a huge lie (fashion would be democratic only and if we could all afford quality products rather than a pile of rags produced by exploiting workers in developing countries...), there are actually places that are genuinely making efforts to democratise culture.
Many museums offer users based all over the world the chance to browse their collections via digital archives. Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum actually pushed things further when three years ago it launched Rijksstudio, its very own online archive, comprising 125,000 works from its collection, conceived as an active tool of discovery for users who want to access the museum collection and download ultra high-resolution images or sections and details of specific artworks.
The Met Museum in New York now offers instead the chance to improve our culture and knowledge by downloading 448 books from its publishing program for free.
The MetPublications portal includes indeed a wide selection of volumes and exhibition catalogues about various topics and disciplines - art, anthropology, architecture, sculpture, photography, fashion, jewellery, tapestry and textiles, just to mention a few - all in PDF format.
All downloadable books are out of print, but it is possible to check out all the other titles that are still in print (as a whole the portal offers an archive of 1,500 titles, including books, online publications, bulletins and journals), gather information about them thanks to the descriptions and tables of contents and, in case, buy them via a dedicated link to the Met Store.
The most recent Met's Bulletins (quarterly publications focusing on works in the Met's collection or exhibitions displayed at the Museum) can also be downloaded as a PDF file, together with the individual articles or the entire volumes of the Met's Journal (its annual and scholarly publication).
One of the most useful services remains the "Additional Resources" tab: it is possible to find here images of works included in the Met collections featured in that specific book you may be checking or related to that topic.
As you may guess this is an extremely useful resource for students, researchers and readers looking for something new (and immediately available) to expand their knowledge.
If you don't know where to start, but want a few ideas to add to your Summer reading list, go for American Ingenuity - Sportswear 1930s-1970s (1998) by Richard Martin, as that may provide you with some clever solutions for frocks and fun garments you may be working in your spare time this summer; if you love embellishments opt instead for Bloom (1995) by Richard Martin and Harold Koda, a celebration of flowers in fashion that will have you swooning with some truly exquisite details, and don't forget Bare Witness (1996) by the same authors, an investigation of fashion's practice to cover and uncover, another ideal title for summer fun; if you're looking for fashion illustration, download instead Waist Not - The Migration of the Waist 1800-1960 (1994) with illustrations by Ruben Toledo.
You're warned, though, the site is highly addictive and, if you love arts, you will easily find yourself downloading more or less each single title. Yet again, it will be time nobly spent: a couple of hours on the MetPublications site will indeed allow you to download for free a great library of wonderful volumes on a portable device and happily take it with you everywhere you go. Now, that's what I call genuine democratisation.
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