Tasha Tudor is best known for her illustrations for children’s books — one of my favorite childhood books was a collection of fairy tales with her illustrations, complete with corgis.

However, she also began collecting antique clothing at the age of nine and amassed well over 500 items that date between 1760 to the 1870’s. She loaned the entire collection to Williamsburg’s DeWitt Wallace Museum in the mid-1990’s and I remember growing faint with delight over some of the items I saw on display in subsequent years.

Now, having permanently donated some items to Williamsburg, Ms. Tudor is putting the balance of the collection up for auction on November 10-11th at C.A. Whitaker Auctions in Pennsylvania. In addition to the collection, the auction house is selling a 116-page, full color catalog of the entire set, with close-ups of important detail. Judging by the sample pages, this will be a beautiful reference guide for historic costumers — or a source of inspiration for the rest of us who just enjoy twiddling with fabric.