About this sheet
Set of three original antique 18th-century copper engravings illustrating French carriage design, coachbuilding and transportation engineering, published in the celebrated Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert in 1771.
The three plates come from the “Sellier-Carrossier” section devoted to the highly specialized craft of saddlers and coachbuilders. Drawn by Jacques-Raymond Lucotte and engraved by Robert Bénard, they provide exceptionally detailed technical studies of elegant French passenger carriages together with their chassis, wheels, suspension systems and individual construction components.
The set comprises Plates VII, VIII and X.
PLATE VII: A detailed study of an elegant four-door Berline de Campagne, or traveling Berlin carriage. The complete coach is shown in side elevation, accompanied by a front view and individual construction details.
PLATE VIII: A further sophisticated carriage design from the Sellier-Carrossier series, showing the complete vehicle together with detailed views of its chassis, suspension, wheels and structural components.
PLATE X: A Diligence à Cul de Singe, an unusual passenger carriage distinguished by its characteristic rounded coach body. The plate includes a complete side elevation together with a plan of the chassis and individual fittings and mechanical details.
These engravings were created not merely as decorative images but as precise records of the techniques and engineering employed by French craftsmen during the Age of Enlightenment. They offer a fascinating insight into luxury travel before the railway and document the sophisticated construction required to make horse-drawn passenger vehicles comfortable, durable and maneuverable.
Displayed together, the three large carriage elevations form an especially attractive and coherent group, combining decorative French design with the precision of 18th-century technical illustration.
ARTIST / DRAFTSMAN: Jacques-Raymond Lucotte
PUBLICATION: Encyclopédie – Recueil de Planches sur les Sciences, les Arts Libéraux et les Arts Méchaniques
SECTION: Sellier-Carrossier
PLATES: VII, VIII and X
MEDIUM: Original copper engravings on paper
SUBJECT: French carriages, coachbuilding, carriage construction and transportation engineering
STYLE / PERIOD: Louis XV / French Enlightenment
NUMBER OF PRINTS: 3
CONDITION: Good antique condition with overall age-related toning, scattered foxing, spotting and staining. Some creases, handling marks, edge wear and small imperfections are present, consistent with original sheets more than 250 years old. The engraved images remain strong, detailed and well defined. All three engravings are monochrome and retain their original printed appearance. Please study the photographs carefully as they form part of the condition description.
PLEASE NOTE: These are three original antique 18th-century copper engravings from 1771, not modern reproductions. The prints are sold unframed. Framed images, group compositions or interior views, if shown, are for presentation and inspiration only.
