Stilt Walker of Haiden and French Peasants, Hand Colored Lithograph, 1842

An original antique lithograph, hand colored, from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). In the upper image a man on tall wooden stilts strides across a grassy field, wrapped in a long brown hooded cape with a fringed red collar, a blue jacket and yellow breeches, carrying a long pole over his shoulder. To the right stands a man in a broad brimmed black hat, gray coat, yellow waistcoat with a striped sash and full brown breeches tucked into high boots, smoking a pipe and holding a stick, in front of a wooden fence and bushes. The lower image shows three figures: a young man in a black hat and dark jacket over a red waistcoat with a bundle on his back and a staff in his hand; a woman in a white cap and long dark cloak over a yellow and red striped apron, carrying a basket of food; and a young woman in a white bonnet, red jacket, white apron and striped skirt holding a jug.

The lettering reads "Tav 16" at upper left, "FRANCIA" in the center and "Tom IV" at upper right. The upper captions read "Contadino di Haiden sui trampoli foriero alla città" (Peasant of Haiden on stilts, messenger to the town) and "Contadino di S Cheogne" (Peasant of S Cheogne). The lower captions read "Contadini di Angoumois" (Peasants of Angoumois) and "Costume di Cuffeaux" (Costume of Cuffeaux).

Stilts were used by country people in the flat, wet lowlands of southwestern France to cross marshy ground and to watch over flocks. Angoumois is the old province around Angoulême in western France.

The tall stilt walker gives the plate a strong vertical accent that suits a narrow wall or a hallway.

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