Second Bridal Dress of a Lady of Cologne in Blue Gown and Veil, 1588, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered "Another Bridal Habit of a Lady of Cologne, in 1588." It is plate 164 from Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, published in London in 1757. The bride faces the viewer with her hands clasped at her waist. A white coif with long white bands falls from her head down the front of her dress, framing a pleated collar. Her blue overgown has very wide hanging sleeves and is worn open over a laced bodice with a large gold buckle at the waist. The gown shades from a dark gray-blue on the viewer's left to a lighter blue on the right, and yellow shoes show at the hem.

The English title is engraved in script below the figure, with the French caption "Autre Habit de Noce d'une Dame de Cologne." (Another wedding dress of a lady of Cologne) beneath it and the plate number 164 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. It follows the bridal dress of 1577 in the same sequence of Cologne plates.

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.