Ensign of the German Infantry with Red and White Flag, Costume of 1588, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered "Habit of an Ensign of the German Infantry, in 1588." It is plate 153 from Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, published in London in 1757. The bearded ensign stands facing the viewer with a large flag striped in red and white over his left shoulder, its staff topped by a spear point. He wears a gray cap, a red ribbon with a gold medallion, and a doublet and paned breeches patterned in red on white, with full gray sleeves and very full gray breeches. One hand rests on his hip and the other holds the gilt hilt of his sword. He wears red stockings and yellow shoes.

The English title is engraved in script below the figure, with the French caption "Enseigne de l'Infanterie Allemande." (Ensign of the German infantry) beneath it and the plate number 153 at lower right. No engraver or designer is named on the plate. The date in the English title is the date of the costume shown; the print itself was published in 1757.

The plate comes from Volume II of Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern. Particularly Old English Dresses. After the Designs of Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar, and others, published in London in 1757 by Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in the Strand. The work was issued in English and French, with a French title page reading Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, which is why every plate carries a caption in both languages.

The single figure on an open ground suits a simple mat and a narrow frame, alone or hung with other costume plates from the same volume.

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