English Gentleman in 1640, Crimson Suit and Black Cloak, Jefferys Print, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1757, colored by hand, lettered "Habit of an English Gentleman, in 1640." A young gentleman with fair hair falling to his shoulders stands in a three quarter pose, one hand on his hip and the other raised toward his chest. A lace collar lies over a crimson doublet and full crimson breeches tied at the knee with pink ribbons. A large black cloak is wrapped around his shoulders and sweeps down behind him almost to his ankles. Pale blue stockings and dark shoes with gold rosettes and red heels complete the figure.

The English title is engraved in script below the image: "Habit of an English Gentleman, in 1640." Beneath it, in smaller italic letters, is the French caption "Gentilhomme Anglois.", meaning "English gentleman". The plate number 219 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 loose hair, falling lace collar and long cloak mark the fashion of the late 1630s and early 1640s, worn by the English gentry before the Civil War.

The crimson and black give the sheet a strong silhouette, and it pairs well with the gentlewoman of the same year.

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