About this sheet
Original antique hand-colored copper engraving depicting an elaborate four-door traveling Berlin carriage, published in the celebrated Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert.
The original caption reads “Sellier-Carrossier; Berline de Campagne à 4 Portières.”
The large central illustration presents the complete carriage in side elevation, revealing its four-door passenger compartment, large rear and smaller front wheels, suspension system, chassis, driver’s seat and richly ornamented coachwork. Additional figures show the carriage from the front together with individual structural components and construction details.
Particularly attractive is the extensive hand coloring, with rose-red coachwork, blue window panels, yellow floral decoration and touches of gilt-colored ornament. These colors transform what was originally conceived as a technical illustration into a highly decorative record of luxury French carriage design.
The Berlin, or berline, was an enclosed four-wheeled carriage developed for comfortable long-distance travel and became one of the most important European carriage types of the 18th century. This “Berline de Campagne” was specifically conceived as a traveling carriage.
The plate belongs to the “Sellier-Carrossier” section of Diderot’s Encyclopédie, documenting the highly specialized craft of the saddler and coachbuilder. The Encyclopédie plates are among the most important visual records of European craftsmanship, technology and manufacturing during the Age of Enlightenment.
ARTIST / DRAFTSMAN: Jacques-Raymond Lucotte
PUBLICATION: Encyclopédie – Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences, les Arts Libéraux et les Arts Méchaniques
PLATE: VII
ORIGINAL TITLE: Sellier-Carrossier; Berline de Campagne à 4 Portières
MEDIUM: Original copper engraving with hand coloring
SUBJECT: Four-door Berlin traveling carriage / coachbuilding
STYLE / PERIOD: Louis XV–Louis XVI Period / French Enlightenment
CONDITION: Good antique condition with overall age-related toning, scattered foxing, spotting and staining. Some creasing, handling wear and small imperfections are visible along the margins and edges, including wear and minor losses. The engraving itself remains strong and detailed. The extensive hand coloring remains particularly attractive, with reds, blues, yellows and gilt-toned decorative details. Please study the photographs carefully as they form part of the condition description.
PLEASE NOTE: This is an original antique 18th-century engraving, not a modern reproduction. The print is sold unframed. Framed images or interior views, if shown, are for presentation and inspiration only.
