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 for details.