Lady of Nuremberg in Flowered Bodice and Pink Skirt, Costume of 1577, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered "Habit of a Lady of Nuremberg in 1577." It is plate 170 from Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, published in London in 1757. The young woman stands with her hands folded at her waist and a long braid falling over her shoulder. She wears a small black cap, a ruff above a high black collar, and a bodice with puffed sleeves in pink flowered fabric, faced in black and gold down the front. A white apron with a striped border in blue, red and yellow covers a finely pleated pink skirt, over a dark underskirt banded in gold, and a red purse with tassels hangs at her side.

The English title is engraved in script below the figure, with the French caption "Fille de Nuremberg." (Girl of Nuremberg) beneath it and the plate number 170 at lower right. No engraver or designer is named on the plate. The date in the English title is the date of the costume shown; the print itself was published in 1757.

Jefferys was a London geographer and map publisher, styled on his title page Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, with premises in the Strand. In 1757 he issued the second volume of A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern. Particularly Old English Dresses, whose figures, according to the title page, were taken after the designs of Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others. The parallel French title, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, explains the bilingual captions.

A plain mat in a warm white sets off the hand coloring, and the plate pairs naturally with other figures from the series.

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