Gaston d'Orleans, Commander under Louis XIII, circa 1882
€ 220
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
circa 1882
Mapmaker / artist
Engraved by Petit
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-13382-52
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
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. Scattered foxing in the margin. All four corners complete.
About this sheet
This original antique hand-colored wood engraving shows Gaston d'Orleans, Commander under Louis XIII, a plate from Augustin Challamel's La France et les Francais a travers les siecles, Paris, circa 1882. Gaston d'Orleans standing in a slashed doublet and wide breeches with a falling lace collar, a broad plumed hat in his hand and a sword at his side, lettered with his birth at Fontainebleau on 25 April 1608.
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.
Gaston was the king's brother and the perpetual conspirator of the reign, the man every plot against Richelieu was built around, and this is the volume's full length record of how he dressed for the part. 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.
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. Scattered foxing in the margin. All four corners complete.
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.
