Knight of Saint John of Jerusalem, Costume of the Order, Wood Engraving, 1844

This is an original antique wood engraving, colored by hand with watercolor, showing a knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem in uniform. He stands full length, his head in profile to the left, with dark hair, side whiskers and a beard. He wears a red coat with a dark blue front buttoned in gold, a high dark collar, dark cuffs and heavy gold fringed epaulettes, each bearing a small white eight-pointed cross. A larger white eight-pointed cross is set on the red of the coat on the right side of the chest, and a small white cross with a gold center hangs at the top of the coat front. His trousers are white, his gloves white and his shoes black. In the hand at left he holds a black cocked hat; at right his gloved hand rests on the gold hilt of a sword, its guard marked with a small white cross, in a black scabbard tipped with gold, and a broad band of gold embroidery runs down the side of his trousers. He stands on a small patch of tinted ground with a cast shadow.

The caption below reads "CHEVALIER DE L'ORDRE DE SAINT-JEAN DE JÉRUSALEM." (Knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem). In the ground at lower left the block is signed "DUVERGER" in small capitals, and at lower right there is a flourished calligraphic monogram. The plate carries no running head or plate number.

The plate comes from Ordres de Chevalerie et Marques d'Honneur, published by Auguste Wahlen in Brussels by the Librairie Historique-Artistique, rue de Schaerbeek, 12, in 1844. The half title reads Histoire, costumes, décorations de tous les ordres de chevalerie, et marques d'honneur. Auguste Wahlen was the pen name of the Belgian writer Jean-François-Nicolas Loumyer (1801 to 1875), and the title page lists his own knighthoods in the orders of Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Hanover, Greece, the Roman States, Saxe-Coburg and Brazil.

The red coat against the white trousers and the clean profile make this costume plate an easy one to frame on its own or with other military costume prints.

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