Lady in the Highlands of Scotland in 1745, Tartan Plaid, Jefferys Plate, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered in script "Habit of a Lady in the Highlands of Scotland in 1745." A young woman stands wrapped in a large plaid of dark green tartan that covers her head like a hood and falls almost to the ground. She holds it closed beneath her chin with one hand, while her other hand, at her waist, points toward the viewer's right, that is, to her own left. Beneath the plaid a full golden ochre skirt spreads wide over a white petticoat, and small blue shoes show at the hem.

Below the title the French caption reads "Dame des Montagnes d'Ecosse.", meaning lady of the mountains of Scotland. The plate number 192 is engraved at lower right, and no artist or engraver is named.

This is a plate from Volume II of A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern, issued in London in 1757 by Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, from his premises in the Strand. Its title page credits the designs to Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others, and a French title page, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, accompanies the English one, so each figure is captioned in both languages. The plate is a companion to the Highland gentleman of the same year, 1745, the year of the Jacobite rising.

The figure stands alone on the sheet with ample margins, so it frames easily and sits comfortably beside other costume plates.

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