Another Lady of Quality in France in 1581, Hand Colored Costume Plate, 1757

An original antique print, a copper engraving colored by hand, lettered "Another Habit of a Lady of Quality in France, in 1581." A woman seen in profile, turned toward the viewer's left, wears a small blue cap trimmed with a pink rosette and three tall plumes, her hair dressed up behind a high ruff. Her stiff pointed bodice is striped in gold and red braid, her sleeves are blue, and a long pale green cape hangs from her shoulders down her back. A full olive green skirt falls into a long train behind her at the viewer's right. She holds a pair of gloves out toward the viewer's left, and her other hand gathers a fold of her skirt.

Two lines of lettering run below the figure. The English title, in a flowing script, reads "Another Habit of a Lady of Quality in France, in 1581." The French caption beneath it reads "Damoiselle Francoise.", meaning "French Damsel", and the number 127 is engraved at lower right. The plate carries no engraver or designer credit.

Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, published A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern from his premises in the Strand, London, and this plate is from the second volume, dated 1757 on its title page. The title page credits the designs to Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others, and a French title, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, accounts for the bilingual lettering. It falls among the French figures of the volume. The year in the English title is the date of the costume shown, not of the print, which was published in 1757.

It can be shown on its own or grouped with neighboring plates from the same nation.

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