Man of Bohemia in Fur Hat and Fur-Lined Cloak, Costume of 1577, Jefferys 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered "Habit of Bohemia, in 1577." It is plate 161 from Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, published in London in 1757. The bearded man points with his right hand toward the viewer's left and grips the hilt of a sheathed sword at his side with his left. He wears a tall fur hat, a long brown coat with a fur collar and fur cuffs, held in by a red sash, and over it a blue-gray cloak lined with fur. Olive breeches are tucked into soft brown boots folded down below the knee.

The English title is engraved in script below the figure, with the French caption "Bohemien." (Bohemian) beneath it and the plate number 161 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.