Habit of King Edward VI Worn in England in 1550, Jefferys Costume Plate, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered in script "Habit of King Edward VI worn in England in 1550." The young king stands with his right hand raised to his chest, wearing a small round hat with a feather and a white ruff. His blue doublet is patterned and edged in gold, belted with a gold girdle, over short puffed blue breeches and white hose. A red cloak lined with fur hangs from his shoulders, he holds a pair of gloves in his left hand, and a sword hangs at his side.

The French caption beneath reads "Le Roi Edouard VI.", meaning King Edward VI. The plate number 197 is engraved at lower right, and no artist or engraver is named.

The plate belongs to the second volume of Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern. Particularly Old English Dresses, published in London in 1757 by Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in the Strand. The title page states that the figures were taken after the designs of Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others, and the work carried a parallel French title, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, which explains the two languages on every plate. Edward VI, the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, came to the throne in 1547 at the age of nine and died in 1553. The date in the caption refers to the costume.

A single standing figure on a generous margin, it suits a simple mount and frame and works well alone or in a group with other plates from the series.

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