Captain Matamore, the Braggart Soldier, Antique Print, circa 1882
€ 210
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1882
Mapmaker / artist
French School
Publisher
F. Roy, editeur, 185 rue Saint-Antoine, Paris
Technique
Woodcut
Coloring
Original hand color
Sheet size
28.5 × 20 cm (11.2 × 7.9 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-13382-49
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Loss or wear at the top right corner. Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. Scattered foxing in the margin. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the top.
About this sheet
This original antique hand-colored wood engraving shows Captain Matamore, the Braggart Soldier, a plate from Augustin Challamel's La France et les Francais a travers les siecles, Paris, circa 1882. Captain Matamore, the quarrelsome Spanish braggart of the stage, striding forward in a short cloak and an enormous ruff with a rapier almost as tall as himself, his hat cocked and his mustaches turned up.
This sheet was issued at Paris about 1882 by F. Roy, editeur, in Augustin Challamel's history of France and the French through the centuries, a work crowned by the Academie francaise. Challamel was also the author of a history of fashion in France, and the costume plates are the part of the book he cared about most. They are wood engravings, and the color has been applied by hand over the printed line, which is why the washes sit slightly across the engraved outline in places. This is a wood engraving finished by hand in watercolor. The coloring is bold rather than subtle, which suits the flat decorative drawing, and the strong yellows, reds and blues of the suite are what make these sheets work so well in a group on a wall rather than only as reference illustrations.
Matamore is the swaggering coward of the commedia and the French stage, cited on the sheet itself in connection with Cyrano de Bergerac, and this is a theatrical character print as much as a costume plate. Mounted with a wide cream border and framed in gilt it suits a bedroom, a landing or a fitting room, and it sits naturally beside other French decorative material of the later nineteenth century.
Loss or wear at the top right corner. Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. Scattered foxing in the margin. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the top.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
