Set of Three Antique People & Trades of Lima Peru Engravings, circa 1850

€ 390

Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)

Date: 1850
Sheet size: 27 × 19 cm (10.6 × 7.5 in)
Condition: Good
Reference: BG-14325-36, BG-14325-37, BG-14325-38

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

Wear consistent with age and use. Good antique condition with visible age-related foxing, spotting and toning, varying between the sheets. Some foxing is more pronounced in the margins. Minor marginal wear and traces from former binding are present. Please study the photographs.

About this sheet

Three hand-colored engravings of people of Lima, Peru, published in Paris around 1850 in the series "Les peuples peints par leurs Costumes". Each sheet is headed "Amérique" and carries the series line beneath the caption, and the three share the same format and coloring.

The first, "Esclave des environs de Lima (Pérou)", shows an enslaved man in profile, standing in a striped poncho, a close cap and trousers. The second, "Aguador (Lima)", is a water carrier on a donkey, with two large barrels slung across the animal's back and a long staff held upright in his hand, a type that served the city before piped water. The third shows a man in a very tall-crowned hat, a light shirt and patched breeches, and its caption uses a nineteenth-century term for a Black man that is now considered offensive; it is noted here only as the title the print carries.

As a group, the engravings show how French publishers presented South American occupations, dress and social groups to a European audience at mid-century. The sheets are sold together as a set.