PYNE, William Henry (1769-1843)

The Costume of Great Britain

London: Printed for William Miller ... by William Bulmer and Co., 1804 [plates watermarked 1819]. Folio. (14 x 10 inches). Hand-coloured stipple-engraved title vignette, 60 hand-coloured aquatint plates with partially coloured backgrounds.

Contemporary full green straight grained morocco, covers bordered in gilt and blind, spine with wide semi-raised bands in six compartments, tooled in gilt on each band, lettered in the second compartment, the other with a repeat decoration in blind, blue endpapers, gilt edges. Housed in a cloth box.

Lovely copy of the deluxe issue with coloured backgrounds.

This lavishly illustrated book offers a vibrant depiction of British social and occupational life at the turn of the 19th century. Published in 1804, The Costume of Great Britain captures the diversity of British society through a series of hand-coloured aquatint plates accompanied by descriptive text. Each plate portrays figures in traditional and occupational dress, ranging from milkmaids and fishmongers to nobility and clergy, reflecting both urban and rural life. The work was issued in three forms: with only the figures coloured, with the foreground immediately behind or around the figures coloured (as the present) and a rare issue with sky additionally coloured. Pine was a bookseller and publisher based in Bristol. His collaboration with skilled artists and engravers, such as William Alexander and John Harris, ensured the high quality and detail of this work. The combination of artistry and ethnographic attention makes the present work a cornerstone of costume literature, reflecting the broader European fascination with national and regional identities in dress during the 18th and early 19th century.

Abbey, Life 430; Colas 2447; Tooley 388; martin-Hardie 142.

Item #32501

Price: $2,000.00