About this sheet
Set of Four Antique Alpine Trades & Folk Costume Engravings, Switzerland & Tyrol, circa 1850
Attractive set of four original antique hand-colored engravings depicting traditional trades, occupations and regional costumes from Switzerland and the Tyrol. Published in Paris circa 1850 as part of the series “Les peuples peints par leurs Costumes.”
The set comprises:
1. Laitier Bernois (Suisse) – A Bernese dairyman in traditional Swiss dress, depicted beside a large wooden milk vessel and carrying the tools associated with his occupation.
2. Garde de Vignes à Meran (Tyrol) – A vineyard guard from Meran, present-day Merano in South Tyrol, wearing colorful Alpine costume with a feathered hat and carrying a long staff and horn.
3. Laitier de l’Oberhasli (Canton de Fribourg, Suisse) – A Swiss dairyman in regional costume, standing with dairy vessels and holding a long Alpine horn.
4. Marchand de Tapis de Zell (Tyrol) – A travelling carpet merchant from Zell in the Tyrol, shown carrying a substantial bundle of textiles on his back while smoking a pipe and walking with a stick.
Finely engraved and enhanced with period hand coloring, the four prints form an engaging record of everyday Alpine occupations and traditional dress in the mid-19th century. Unlike purely decorative costume studies, these images also document working life, showing distinctive trades associated with the rural communities of Switzerland and the Tyrol.
The dairymen, vineyard guard and travelling textile merchant form a particularly coherent group. Their varied poses, occupational attributes and complementary colors make the four prints highly decorative when displayed together in a symmetrical 2 x 2 arrangement.
SUBJECT: Switzerland, Tyrol, Swiss Alps, Bern, Meran, Merano, Oberhasli, Zell, Alpine Trades, Dairyman, Vineyard Guard, Carpet Merchant, Traditional Costume, Folk Dress, Ethnography
DATE: Circa 1850
ORIGIN: Paris, France
MEDIUM: Hand-colored engravings on paper
STYLE: Romantic
CONDITION: Good antique condition with visible age-related foxing, spotting and toning, varying between the four sheets. Some sheets show more pronounced foxing, particularly toward the margins. Minor marginal wear and traces from former binding are present. Please study the photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.
Original antique prints, not modern reproductions.
DIMENSIONS: Four individual sheets; dimensions available on request.
SOLD: As a set of four, unframed. Any framed or interior images shown are for presentation and inspiration only.
KEYWORDS: Antique Swiss costume prints, antique Tyrol prints, Alpine trades, Swiss trades, Tyrolean trades, Alpine occupations, Laitier Bernois, Bernese dairyman, Swiss dairyman, Garde de Vignes, vineyard guard, Meran Tyrol, Merano South Tyrol, Laitier de l'Oberhasli, Oberhasli Switzerland, Alpine horn, alphorn, Marchand de Tapis, carpet merchant, Zell Tyrol, travelling merchant, traditional Swiss costume, Tyrolean costume, Alpine folk costume, European folk costume, occupational prints, ethnographic prints, ethnography, hand-colored engravings, hand-colored prints, 19th century prints, circa 1850, Romantic period, historical costume, social history, European costume prints, Swiss history, Tyrol history, folk art, decorative wall art, gallery wall, set of four antique prints.
