King Charles I in 1630, Caroline Court Costume, Jefferys Costume Print, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1757, colored by hand, lettered "Habit of King Charles the 1st. in 1630" The king stands with long curling hair, a moustache and pointed beard, and a wide falling collar of lace. His doublet is slashed in bands of yellow and black over pale blue, opening on a red front where a jewel hangs on a ribbon. Full green breeches trimmed with gold braid down the side end at the knee in gold garter rosettes, above white stockings and buff shoes with rosettes. He gestures with one hand toward the viewer's left while the other rests on the hilt of a sword that runs out behind him.

The English title is engraved in script below the image: "Habit of King Charles the 1st. in 1630" Beneath it, in smaller italic letters, is the French caption "Le Roi Charles I.", meaning "King Charles I". The plate number 215 is engraved at lower right. The English title uses a raised "st" after the numeral, rendered here as "1st." 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. Charles I reigned from 1625 until his execution in 1649. The long hair, lace collar and slashed doublet show the relaxed court style of the 1630s, familiar from the portraits painted by Van Dyck.

A royal portrait in costume, it hangs well in a library or study and pairs naturally with the English plates of 1640 that follow it in the volume.

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