Lady of Quality of England in 1640, Yellow Satin Gown, Jefferys Print, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1757, colored by hand, lettered "Habit of a Lady of Quality of England, in 1640." A lady stands with one arm extended toward the viewer's left, palm turned up. Her dark ringlets are dressed with a white flower, pearls hang at her ears and throat, and a low neckline is edged with lace and fastened with jeweled clasps. Her gown is a bright yellow satin falling in heavy folds to the ground, with full white sleeves showing at the elbows, and a dark fur tippet lies across one shoulder. A cast shadow falls to the right of her skirt.

The English title is engraved in script below the image: "Habit of a Lady of Quality of England, in 1640." Beneath it, in smaller italic letters, is the French caption "Dame Anglois de Qualite.", meaning "English lady of quality". The plate number 218 is engraved at lower right. 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. The glossy satin, pearls and fur tippet belong to the fashionable dress of the Van Dyck generation.

The glowing yellow gown gives the sheet strong color, and it works well in a dressing room or a hall alongside other plates from the 1640 group.

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