Altenburg Everyday and Festive Dress with Bridal Couple, Lithograph, 1842

This original antique lithograph, hand colored, comes from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image shows four men in a village landscape with a thatched house and smoking chimney. At the left a man in a skullcap, white shirt sleeves and a black waistcoat with a green band holds a pipe; beside him a man in a pale blue caped coat walks with a cane. At the right a man in a round hat and a dark coat lined in red carries a checked basket and a staff, and a man in a broad black hat and tan coat smokes a long pipe. The lower image shows the wedding party. At the left the groom in a cap with a green pompom, a red front with a yellow embroidered triangle and dark breeches holds his hat and a green sprig. In the center the bride wears a gold hooped headdress, a red cap, a red skirt and a dark cloak. At the right a man in a tall hat trimmed with ribbons and greenery and a white shirt with huge puffed sleeves holds a cane and a tall red tinted glass.

The lettering reads "Tav. 76" at the top left, "GERMANIA" at the center and "Tom IV" at the top right. The upper caption reads "Altenburghesi vestiti da casa e da festa" (people of Altenburg in everyday and festive dress). Under the lower image: "Costume degli Sposi Altenburghesi" (dress of an Altenburg bridal couple) and "Paraninfo" (the wedding go-between).

Altenburg, in Thuringia, was the capital of the duchy of Saxe-Altenburg in 1842, and the peasant dress of the district was famous for its distinctive cut and its wedding finery.

A colorful choice for anyone with family roots in Thuringia or Saxony.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.