Henri III and his Court, Pair of Antique Hand Colored Prints, circa 1882

About this sheet

This is a set of two original antique hand-colored wood engravings, sold together as one lot, from Augustin Challamel's La France et les Francais a travers les siecles, Paris, circa 1882. The sheets are, in order: Henri III of France in Court Dress; Louise de Vaudemont and the Joyeuse Wedding Party. Henri the Third in a short cloak and padded trunk hose over white stockings, a high ruff at his throat, a jeweled cap with an aigrette and a sword at his hip, lettered with the dates of his reign, 1574 to 1589. Four figures from the Joyeuse wedding picture in the Louvre: Louise de Vaudemont, queen of Henri the Third, the duke of Guise, and Marguerite de Vaudemont with Anne de Joyeuse, all in the stiff jeweled white and gold of the court of 1581.

The plate belongs to La France et les Francais a travers les siecles by Augustin Challamel, published in Paris by F. Roy at 185 rue Saint-Antoine about 1882. It comes from the suite headed Costumes civils et militaires des Francais a travers les siecles, which runs through the work and illustrates French civil and military dress from Gaul to the nineteenth century. Much of the original drawing was done by Edmond Lechevalier-Chevignard, working from manuscripts, tapestries and paintings named on the sheets themselves. The plates of this suite are headed Costumes civils et militaires des Francais a travers les siecles across the top of the sheet, numbered at the lower left and signed F. Roy, editeur at the lower right, with the engraver's name cut small into the lower margin of the block on many of them. The ground is left plain so that the figures carry the whole weight of the design.

Henri the Third is the king whose court set the extreme of late Valois fashion, and this full length, taken from an unknown painter by way of Chevignard, is the volume's principal record of how he dressed. The Joyeuse wedding of 1581 was the most lavish court festivity of the century and the Louvre picture of it is the single best document of late Valois dress, which this plate reproduces figure by figure. They are two original sheets sold together, and the set is never split. Hung together in matching frames the sheets read as one piece of wall rather than as separate prints, and the uniform plate size makes an even line above a sideboard, a bed or a run of stairs.

Noticeable uneven toning on some sheets. Marked handling soiling along the edges of both sheets. Scattered foxing in the margins of both sheets. Slight wear at the corners of both sheets. Shallow nicks along an edge of both sheets.

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.