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Antique 1875 Jules David Signed French Fashion Plate Hand Colored Engraving Le Journal des Dames Bustle Era Framed Wall Art
Antique 1875 Jules David Signed French Fashion Plate Hand Colored Engraving Le Journal des Dames Bustle Era Framed Wall Art
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$155.00 USD
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$155.00 USD
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🏰 ANTIQUE c.1875 FRENCH FASHION PLATE — SIGNED BY JULES DAVID
Hand-Colored Steel Engraving | Le Journal des Dames et des Demoiselles, Edition C
Plate 1249C | Published circa 1875 | A. Leroy, Paris | Original Jules David Signature
A magnificent 150-year-old French fashion plate signed by JULES DAVID (1808–1892) — the most celebrated fashion illustrator of the Victorian era, known as the "King of Fashion Plates." This piece captures a quintessential mid-1870s scene: two elegant ladies in elaborate Bustle Era gowns conversing on a country promenade, accompanied by a small child in a white pleated dress with pink sash, holding a butterfly net and a freshly caught blue butterfly — one of the most charming compositional details in the entire Le Journal des Dames catalogue.
The plate dates to circa 1875, the height of the Late First Bustle / Early Polonaise transition — a defining moment in Parisian dressmaking when the architectural pleated bustle reached its most extravagant expression before giving way to the slimmer Natural Form silhouette of 1877–1882.
🖼️ MATCHING SET AVAILABLE
This print is one of FIVE antique Le Journal des Dames fashion plates currently in our shop. Perfect for creating a coordinated Victorian gallery wall. Visit our shop to view the full collection and qualify for multi-piece discounts (10% off 2, 15% off 3, 20% off 4 or more).
🎨 ABOUT JULES DAVID — "THE KING OF FASHION PLATES"
Jules David (1808–1892) was the most prolific and influential French fashion illustrator of the 19th century. Working primarily for Le Moniteur de la Mode and contributing to numerous European fashion journals including Le Journal des Dames, David produced over 2,500 fashion plates across a 50-year career. His original signed plates are held in the permanent collections of:
The Louvre, Paris
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Bibliothèque nationale de France
His signature in the lower-left corner ("Jules David") authenticates this piece as an original period work — not a later reprint. The plate is also signed by the engraver in the lower-right corner, the dual-signature format being a hallmark of high-quality 19th-century French fashion engravings.
📜 DETAILS
Plate Number: 1249C
Publication Date: Circa 1875 (Late First Bustle Period)
Artist (Designer): Jules David, signed lower-left
Engraver: signed lower-right
Publisher: Ad. Goubaud et Fils, Éditeurs, Paris
Printer: A. Leroy, rue des Marais 66, Paris
Edition: "C" suffix (third distribution edition — see below)
Technique: Steel engraving with hand-applied watercolor
Subjects: Two ladies on a country promenade — one in camel-toned walking dress with parasol; one in cascading teal-blue tournure gown with dense horizontal pleated waterfall — accompanied by a young girl in white pleated dress with pink sash, holding a butterfly net and a captured blue butterfly. Riverside landscape background.
🔍 PLATE NUMBER & EDITION DECODED
The "1249C" identifies this as the 1,249th plate in the journal's continuous numbering system. The "C" suffix is notable: while the more commonly encountered "B" suffix indicates the Brussels-distributed Edition Belge, the "C" suffix corresponds to a separate distribution edition of the journal — making "C" plates considerably less common in today's collector market than their "B" counterparts. For collectors building a complete Le Journal des Dames archive, "C" plates fill a distinct and harder-to-source slot.
🦋 NOTE ON THE BUTTERFLY DETAIL
The young girl's butterfly net and freshly caught blue butterfly is one of the most beloved compositional motifs in the Jules David catalogue — combining children's fashion with a gentle natural-history reference popular in upper-middle-class French households of the period (lépidoptérie, or amateur butterfly collecting, was a fashionable pursuit for educated children). This detail makes the plate especially appealing for nursery, children's room, or whimsical boudoir settings.
🏛️ PERIOD ADVERTISEMENTS PRESERVED
Below the title, the original Parisian shopping references are preserved — a delightful time capsule of mid-1870s luxury commerce:
P. de Plument, rue Vivienne 33 (jupons and corsets)
Mme V. Rolende, rue de Provence 4 (Eau Gauloise toilette water)
Candès et Cie (Lait Antéphélique — anti-blemish lotion)
L. Legrand, rue St. Honoré 207 (Parfums Oriza — the famed Second Empire perfume house, founded 1720, still revered today)
These advertisements make the plate a primary-source document for fashion historians, costume designers, and 19th-century commercial historians.
📐 DIMENSIONS
Frame (outer): 16" × 12" (40.6 × 30.5 cm)
Sheet: full original journal page with all margins
Image area: approximately 8" × 11"
Frame depth: approximately 0.75"
Total weight: 1 lb 13.3 oz
✨ CONDITION
Very good antique condition for a 150-year-old plate. Hand-applied watercolor remains beautifully vivid throughout — the teal-blue cascading bustle, camel walking dress, and pink sash all read as crisply as the day they were painted. The paper shows minor age toning around the upper margin and very light scattered foxing, both consistent with original organic paper aging and characteristic of period plates.
Frame note: Unlike several other plates in this Le Journal des Dames series, this piece is presented in its earlier, simpler period-style frame rather than a 2000s conservation re-frame. The dark wood frame is sound and the glass is intact, with a brass triangle hanger and original wire on reverse — fully ready to hang. The frame's straightforward presentation lets the Jules David artwork itself take center stage, and any future re-framing decision is at the buyer's discretion.
📦 SHIPPING
Carefully packaged with corner protectors, glass-safe wrapping, and double-boxed for safe transit. Ships from Washington State, USA. Tracking and insurance included.
💎 ABOUT LE JOURNAL DES DAMES ET DES DEMOISELLES
Founded in 1841 and published until the early 20th century, this was one of the most influential French fashion journals of the Victorian era, distributed in multiple regional editions across French-speaking Europe. Original hand-colored plates from this journal — particularly those signed by Jules David — are now sought by costume historians, museum curators, fashion designers, and Victorian/Steampunk decorators.
———
🛍️ Browse the full Le Journal des Dames collection in our shop.
Thank you for visiting SWCurated!
Hand-Colored Steel Engraving | Le Journal des Dames et des Demoiselles, Edition C
Plate 1249C | Published circa 1875 | A. Leroy, Paris | Original Jules David Signature
A magnificent 150-year-old French fashion plate signed by JULES DAVID (1808–1892) — the most celebrated fashion illustrator of the Victorian era, known as the "King of Fashion Plates." This piece captures a quintessential mid-1870s scene: two elegant ladies in elaborate Bustle Era gowns conversing on a country promenade, accompanied by a small child in a white pleated dress with pink sash, holding a butterfly net and a freshly caught blue butterfly — one of the most charming compositional details in the entire Le Journal des Dames catalogue.
The plate dates to circa 1875, the height of the Late First Bustle / Early Polonaise transition — a defining moment in Parisian dressmaking when the architectural pleated bustle reached its most extravagant expression before giving way to the slimmer Natural Form silhouette of 1877–1882.
🖼️ MATCHING SET AVAILABLE
This print is one of FIVE antique Le Journal des Dames fashion plates currently in our shop. Perfect for creating a coordinated Victorian gallery wall. Visit our shop to view the full collection and qualify for multi-piece discounts (10% off 2, 15% off 3, 20% off 4 or more).
🎨 ABOUT JULES DAVID — "THE KING OF FASHION PLATES"
Jules David (1808–1892) was the most prolific and influential French fashion illustrator of the 19th century. Working primarily for Le Moniteur de la Mode and contributing to numerous European fashion journals including Le Journal des Dames, David produced over 2,500 fashion plates across a 50-year career. His original signed plates are held in the permanent collections of:
The Louvre, Paris
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Bibliothèque nationale de France
His signature in the lower-left corner ("Jules David") authenticates this piece as an original period work — not a later reprint. The plate is also signed by the engraver in the lower-right corner, the dual-signature format being a hallmark of high-quality 19th-century French fashion engravings.
📜 DETAILS
Plate Number: 1249C
Publication Date: Circa 1875 (Late First Bustle Period)
Artist (Designer): Jules David, signed lower-left
Engraver: signed lower-right
Publisher: Ad. Goubaud et Fils, Éditeurs, Paris
Printer: A. Leroy, rue des Marais 66, Paris
Edition: "C" suffix (third distribution edition — see below)
Technique: Steel engraving with hand-applied watercolor
Subjects: Two ladies on a country promenade — one in camel-toned walking dress with parasol; one in cascading teal-blue tournure gown with dense horizontal pleated waterfall — accompanied by a young girl in white pleated dress with pink sash, holding a butterfly net and a captured blue butterfly. Riverside landscape background.
🔍 PLATE NUMBER & EDITION DECODED
The "1249C" identifies this as the 1,249th plate in the journal's continuous numbering system. The "C" suffix is notable: while the more commonly encountered "B" suffix indicates the Brussels-distributed Edition Belge, the "C" suffix corresponds to a separate distribution edition of the journal — making "C" plates considerably less common in today's collector market than their "B" counterparts. For collectors building a complete Le Journal des Dames archive, "C" plates fill a distinct and harder-to-source slot.
🦋 NOTE ON THE BUTTERFLY DETAIL
The young girl's butterfly net and freshly caught blue butterfly is one of the most beloved compositional motifs in the Jules David catalogue — combining children's fashion with a gentle natural-history reference popular in upper-middle-class French households of the period (lépidoptérie, or amateur butterfly collecting, was a fashionable pursuit for educated children). This detail makes the plate especially appealing for nursery, children's room, or whimsical boudoir settings.
🏛️ PERIOD ADVERTISEMENTS PRESERVED
Below the title, the original Parisian shopping references are preserved — a delightful time capsule of mid-1870s luxury commerce:
P. de Plument, rue Vivienne 33 (jupons and corsets)
Mme V. Rolende, rue de Provence 4 (Eau Gauloise toilette water)
Candès et Cie (Lait Antéphélique — anti-blemish lotion)
L. Legrand, rue St. Honoré 207 (Parfums Oriza — the famed Second Empire perfume house, founded 1720, still revered today)
These advertisements make the plate a primary-source document for fashion historians, costume designers, and 19th-century commercial historians.
📐 DIMENSIONS
Frame (outer): 16" × 12" (40.6 × 30.5 cm)
Sheet: full original journal page with all margins
Image area: approximately 8" × 11"
Frame depth: approximately 0.75"
Total weight: 1 lb 13.3 oz
✨ CONDITION
Very good antique condition for a 150-year-old plate. Hand-applied watercolor remains beautifully vivid throughout — the teal-blue cascading bustle, camel walking dress, and pink sash all read as crisply as the day they were painted. The paper shows minor age toning around the upper margin and very light scattered foxing, both consistent with original organic paper aging and characteristic of period plates.
Frame note: Unlike several other plates in this Le Journal des Dames series, this piece is presented in its earlier, simpler period-style frame rather than a 2000s conservation re-frame. The dark wood frame is sound and the glass is intact, with a brass triangle hanger and original wire on reverse — fully ready to hang. The frame's straightforward presentation lets the Jules David artwork itself take center stage, and any future re-framing decision is at the buyer's discretion.
📦 SHIPPING
Carefully packaged with corner protectors, glass-safe wrapping, and double-boxed for safe transit. Ships from Washington State, USA. Tracking and insurance included.
💎 ABOUT LE JOURNAL DES DAMES ET DES DEMOISELLES
Founded in 1841 and published until the early 20th century, this was one of the most influential French fashion journals of the Victorian era, distributed in multiple regional editions across French-speaking Europe. Original hand-colored plates from this journal — particularly those signed by Jules David — are now sought by costume historians, museum curators, fashion designers, and Victorian/Steampunk decorators.
———
🛍️ Browse the full Le Journal des Dames collection in our shop.
Thank you for visiting SWCurated!
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