German Nobleman in Plumed Red Cap and Paned Hose, Costume of 1577, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered "Habit of a German Nobleman, in 1577." It is plate 150 from Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, published in London in 1757. The gray-bearded nobleman stands with his left hand on his hip and looks toward the viewer's right. He wears a red cap with a white plume, a ruff, and a pale gray doublet slashed and studded with gold, hung with gold chains. A dark cloak lined in green is thrown back from his shoulders. His short yellow trunk hose are paned with black, red rosettes trim his garters, and he wears white stockings and dark shoes, with a gilt-hilted sword at his side.

The English title is engraved in script below the figure, with the French caption "Noble Allemand." (German nobleman) beneath it and the plate number 150 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.