Citizen's Wife of London in 1640 with Fur Muff, Jefferys Costume Print, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1757, colored by hand, lettered "Habit of a Citizen's Wife of London, in 1640." The citizen's wife stands facing the viewer in a broad brimmed black hat with a gold cord around the crown and a deep pleated ruff. A green banded bodice shows at the front of a loose reddish brown gown with full sleeves, which opens over a long white apron reaching to the ground. Both hands are buried in a large fur muff at her waist, one gloved hand showing at its edge.

The English title is engraved in script below the image: "Habit of a Citizen's Wife of London, in 1640." Beneath it, in smaller italic letters, is the French caption "Une Bourgeoise de Londres.", meaning "a citizen's wife of London". The plate number 223 is engraved at lower right. No engraver or artist is named on the plate.

The plate comes from the second volume of Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern, published in London in 1757 by Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in the Strand. The work has a parallel French title page, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, which is why each plate is captioned in both languages. The English title page states that the old English dresses were taken after the designs of Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others, so the date in the caption belongs to the costume and not to the print. The tall hat, deep ruff and long apron set her apart from the ladies of quality of the same year.

A characterful London figure, it pairs well with the Lady Mayoress and the merchant's wife from the same group.

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