PRESS RELEASE

25 September 2007

Leeds, UK

New book opens the door on Henry VIII's wardrobe

How much did a pair of Tudor football boots cost?

How did Henry VIII deal with middle-aged spread?

Which materials were fit for a king?

A new book published this week, Dress at the Court of King Henry VIII by Dr Maria Hayward, is the first detailed study of male and female dress worn at the court of Henry VIII (r. 1509-47). 

Covering the dress of the King and his immediate family, the royal household and the broader court circle, Henry VIII's wardrobe is set in context by a study of Henry VII's clothes, court and household. The book also contains full transcriptions of Thomas Worsley's wardrobe books of 1516 and 1521, some of the few substantial records of the King's clothes in English archives.

Dr David Starkey will be speaking at the book's launch in London on Thursday 27 September, with guests from the fields of history and costume.

Mark Simon, Maney's Publishing Director, anticipates a warm reception: “This book is keenly awaited in the history and costume history communities and is an important and fascinating record of dress and court society in the first half of the sixteenth-century. Dr Hayward is a highly respected expert in the history and conservation of costume and textiles, and her book is the culmination of years of research.”

For more information, to view full list of contents, or to read a sample chapter please visit www.maney.co.uk/books/kinghenry

About Dr Hayward

Maria Hayward is Reader and Head of Studies and Research at the Textile Conservation Centre, University of Southampton, and the Director of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Research Centre for Textile Conservation and Textile Studies (2004-2007). Her publications include The 1542 Inventory of Whitehall: The Palace and Its Keeper (2004) and Tapestry Conservation: Principles and Practice, edited with Frances Lennard (2005). She is currently working with Dr David Starkey and Dr Philip Ward to edit the specialist essays to accompany the 1547 Inventory of Henry VIII, the transcript of which was published in 1998.

About Maney Publishing

Maney Publishing was founded in 1900 and has offices in the UK in Leeds and London, and in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With a collection of over 70 journals in materials sciences, the humanities, and healthcare, Maney is committed to publishing high quality journals in print and electronic formats that are international in scope and peer-reviewed. Maney publishes extensively for learned societies, universities and professional bodies. Please visit www.maney.co.uk for more information.

For more information about this press release please contact Alison Holgate, Marketing & PR Assistant, Maney Publishing. 

Email: a.holgate@maney.co.uk  Tel: +44 (0)113 386 8155

ENDS