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RARE PAIR – 18th Century Hand-Colored Copperplate Engravings
FRENCH ROYAL ARMY OFFICERS – c. 1760–1780
From a Salesman’s Sample Book (Tailor’s Pattern Portfolio)
✦ REGIMENTS IDENTIFIED ✦
• LEFT: **Régiment de Diesbach** – Elite Swiss Guards (Scarlet coat, blue facings, gold lace)
• RIGHT: **Régiment Royal-Deux-Ponts** – German Infantry (Blue coat, buff sash, gold epaulettes)
— HISTORICAL CONTEXT —
These officers served under Louis XV/XVI during the Seven Years’ War and American Revolution.
Royal-Deux-Ponts fought at **Yorktown (1781)**; Diesbach guarded Versailles.
Uniforms follow the **1757 Code Militaire** – exact regimental distinctions.
— AUTHENTICITY & CONDITION —
• **Copperplate engraving** on **rag paper** (chain lines visible)
• **Hand-colored with translucent watercolor** – original 18th-century pigments (oxidized reds, faded blues)
• **Foxing, and edge toning**
• Mounted on **19th-century red boards** with hand-cut windows & gilt borders
• Backs show **original glue residue
• NO restorations, tears, or modern ink – **museum-grade**
— MEASUREMENTS —
Each print (image area): 4.5\" × 2.375\"
Mounted: 7\" × 5\"
— PROVENANCE —
Ex-private collection (acquired 1980s from Parisian antiquarian).
From a **tailor’s sample book** used to show fabric colors & braid options to officers.
Please see photos fordetails.
