Habit of Sir Philip Sidney in 1580, Hand Colored Jefferys Costume Plate, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered in script "Habit of S.r Philip Sidney Kn.t in 1580." Sidney stands in three quarter view in a broad brimmed black hat, his fair curls falling to a collar of lace. His doublet is striped in black and gold and belted at the waist, over full breeches banded in black and gray and edged with lace at the knee. A brown cloak is gathered under his right arm, on the viewer's left, and his left hand rests on the gilt hilt of a sword. Brown stockings rise above his knees, and his shoes are fitted with spurs.

The French caption below reads "Le Chevalier Philippe Sidney.", meaning the knight Philip Sidney. The plate number 211 is engraved at lower right; no artist or engraver is named.

Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, published A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern in London in 1757, and this plate comes from the second volume. The title page names Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others as the sources of the designs, and the book also bears a French title, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, matching the French captions engraved beneath each English title. Sir Philip Sidney, 1554 to 1586, was a poet, courtier and soldier, the author of Astrophel and Stella and the Arcadia. He died of a wound received at Zutphen in the Netherlands while serving in the English army sent there in 1585.

With its clear single figure and wide margins, the plate is easy to mount and frame, alone or as part of a small group.

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