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Framed and on the wall
Frame and rooms are illustrations of how the piece could look; it is sold unframed unless the description says otherwise.
Habit of a Swiss Officer in 1588, Hand Colored Jefferys Costume Plate, 1757
€300
$335 · £255
Original print, not a reproduction.
Ships worldwide from the Netherlands, flat, insured and tracked. 14-day returns.
- Date
- 1757
- Technique
- Copper Engraving
- Coloring
- Hand colored
- Condition
- Good. Light handling wear to the bottom left corner; edges straight and without nicks. Light, uneven toning, soiled along all four edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. A few small light flecks in the printed area.
- Collection
- Uniforms & regiments
- Era
- 1700 to 1789, Wars of the line
- Stock no.
- BG-14276-182
What the condition grades mean
- Excellent
- Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
- Very good
- Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
- Good
- Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
- Fair
- Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered in script "Habit of a Swiss Officer in 1588". The officer is seen from behind and turns his bearded face in profile toward the left, under a red cap with a dark plume and a white ruff at his neck. His pale yellow doublet has huge puffed sleeves worked in a red lattice, his paned breeches are slashed and tipped with red, and his stockings are striped in pink and blue and gartered in red. A long curved sword hangs at his side, its blade sweeping out to the right, and he casts a shadow across the ground to the left.
Beneath the English title the French caption reads "Officier Suisse.", meaning Swiss officer. The plate number 182 is engraved at lower right. No artist or engraver is named on the plate.
The plate belongs to the second volume of Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern. Particularly Old English Dresses, published in London in 1757 by Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in the Strand. The title page states that the figures were taken after the designs of Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others, and the work carried a parallel French title, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, which explains the two languages on every plate. The date in the caption refers to the costume shown, not to the print. Swiss infantry served widely as hired soldiers in sixteenth century Europe.
A single standing figure on a generous margin, it suits a simple mount and frame and works well alone or in a group with other plates from the series.
Condition: Light handling wear to the bottom left corner; edges straight and without nicks. Light, uneven toning, soiled along all four edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. A few small light flecks in the printed area.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
