Detail of Plate #1169 DiableI met with a great gentleman to talk about cataloguing his collection of manuscripts, ephemera and books. He brought along a recent acquisition and I scanned a selection of these 18th century, hand colored engravings. It's just a remarkable set. They are meticulously and vibrantly water colored illustrations of costumes from the French theatre. This volume has over 100 but the original 11 volume set had well over 1500. The other amazing aspect is that they are all portraits of the actors who played the roles. Some images are "clickable" -- they enlarge to full size.
Petite Galerie Dramatique, ou Recueil de différentes Costumes d'Acteurs des Théatres de la Capitale [Small dramatic gallery, or Collection of various actors' costumes from the theatres of the capital], vol. 6. Paris: Martinet, 1790
#1169 Diable
#1579 Caroline
#1325 Mathea
#1317 Lise
#1338 Francine
Detail of #1338 Francine
