Ancient Clothes. LENS. Le Costume ou essai sur les habillements et les usages de plusieurs peuples de l’antiquité.

Small folio; 270x205 mm. Contemporary quarter calf binding, squares, gilt title and ornaments on back; pp. XXXI including half-title and titlepage, 1, 411, 1; 51 numbered plates engraved on copper. Slight defects on binding. Good uncut copy with wide margins.

Rare first illustrated edition. Important work that describes the clothes and customs of ancient peoples: Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Jews, Romans and other peoples. In the 51 plates, engraved in copper by Pieter Martenasie, 160 clothes, clothing accessories of the ancients and ornaments taken from ancient statuary are depicted with precision and skill. Cicognara: “Questa è una delle opere più castigate e a cui può riportarsi con più sicurezza fra quante ne esistono in questa materia.” Brunet: “Ouvrage estimé.”