Bridal Habit of a Swiss Lady in 1577, Hand Colored Jefferys Costume Plate, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered in script "Bridal Habit of a Swiss Lady, in 1577." A young bride stands with her hands folded at her waist, wearing a tall golden bridal crown over long braided hair and a small white ruff. Her white blouse has full puffed sleeves under a green bodice with shoulder straps, and a long pale overgown, lined with green, falls open over a blue skirt and a white apron banded with lace. A long sash embroidered in red and gold and a cluster of thin cords hang at her right side, on the viewer's left.

The French caption below reads "Habit de noce d'une Dame Suisse.", meaning wedding dress of a Swiss lady. The plate is numbered 183 at lower right, and no artist or engraver is named.

This is a plate from Volume II of A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern, issued in London in 1757 by Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, from his premises in the Strand. Its title page credits the designs to Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others, and a French title page, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, accompanies the English one, so each figure is captioned in both languages. The date in the caption refers to the costume, not to the print.

The figure stands alone on the sheet with ample margins, so it frames easily and sits comfortably beside other costume plates.

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