English Nobleman in 1640, Cavalier Dress with Plumed Hat, Jefferys Print, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1757, colored by hand, lettered "Habit of a Nobleman of England, in 1640." A nobleman stands facing the viewer in a wide black hat with a white plume, his long curls falling to a broad lace collar. His red doublet and breeches are slashed and trimmed with rows of gold, and a gold baldric crosses his chest. One hand rests on his hip, at the viewer's left, with a lace trimmed sleeve and a falling cuff, while a heavy gray cloak is thrown over his other shoulder and gathered in his hand. Gold fringed garters and lace boot hose tops spill over wide, soft buff boots tied at the instep.

The English title is engraved in script below the image: "Habit of a Nobleman of England, in 1640." Beneath it, in smaller italic letters, is the French caption "Noble Anglois.", meaning "English nobleman". The plate number 217 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 plumed hat, lace collar and wide topped boots are the classic dress of the English gentleman on the eve of the Civil War, the style later associated with the Cavaliers.

The strong red figure stands out well at a distance, and it makes a natural pair with the lady of quality of 1640.

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