Merchant of Meissen in Fur-Lined Blue Cloak, Costume of 1577, Jefferys 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered "Habit of a Merchant of Misnia, in 1577." It is plate 167 from Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, published in London in 1757. The bearded merchant stands with his feet apart, a white handkerchief in his outstretched right hand. He wears a tall purple hat with a fur brim and an orange sprig, and a blue cloak lined with white fur and edged in gold, thrown open over a gray buttoned doublet. His short paned trunk hose are striped in red, gold and white and tied with a white sash, a gilt-hilted dagger sits at his waist, and he wears white hose and blue-gray shoes.

The English title is engraved in script below the figure, with the French caption "Marchand de Misnie." (Merchant of Misnia) beneath it and the plate number 167 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. Misnia is the Latin name for Meissen and its margraviate in Saxony.

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.