Incroyable No.9. Fashion plate from "Incroyable et Merveilleuse", engraved by George Jacques Gatine after Horace Vernet, Paris, 1814.

Man wearing a green coat over a pink and white striped waistcoat with white kerseymere breeches and top-boots. His cravat is tied with the ends flying free, in the 'oreilles de lièvre' (hare ears) style. He has a bunch of fobs and seals at his waist and carries a black hat and a riding crop.

The Incroyable et Merveilleuse plates are particularly valuable as a record of men's fashion. This engraving shows a man in a green tail-coat cut away in front, worn over a pink and white striped waistcoat with white kerseymere breeches that button and tie at the knees. Whilst kerseymere translates as cashmere, and indeed, usually refers to woollen cloth, in the context of men's breeches, it refers to a soft twill-weave cotton fabric that was comfortable and form-fitting without the itchiness associated with wool. His black leather boots are called top-boots due to the buff-coloured cuff at the top. He carries a black high-crowned hat and a slim cane, and has a bunch of seals and fobs at his waist.

Neckcloths were particularly important to the fashionable gentleman at this period, and could be folded and tied in many different ways. Some of the styles were extremely challenging to achieve. A popular and frequently repeated anecdote about the British dandy Beau Brummell describes how, after Brummell had spent much time and effort ensuring that his neckcloth was tied to his satisfaction, his valet was left with a quantity of discarded, wrinkled neckcloths described as "faillures". Captain Jesse, Brummell's biographer, in The Life of Beau Brummell (London, 1927), describes the process of donning and tying a neckcloth thusly:

"The collar, which was always fixed to his shirt, was so large that, before being folded down, it completely hid his head and face, and the white neckcloth was at least a foot in height. The first coup d'archet was made with the shirt collar, which he folded down to its proper size; and Brummell then standing before the glass, with his chin poked up to the ceiling, by the gentle and gradual declension of his jaw, creased the cravat to reasonable dimensions, the form of each succeeding crease being perfected with the shirt which he had just discarded."

Each manner of tying the neckcloth had its own distinctive name, such as Mathematical, American and Oriental. In Neckclothitania or Tietania, Being an Essay on Starchers, by One of the Cloth, a semi-comic publication published in London by J. J. Stockdale, 1818, the various styles were described and illustrated, along with commentary and notes. The American was described as "pretty and easily formed", whilst the Oriental Knot was described as being very stiff and rigid, preventing the wearer from moving his head or neck. The neckcloths were predominantly white and always highly starched, although some colours were indicated to be permissible, such as ocean green for the American, azure blue for the Osbaldston, and for the Trone d'Amour, or 'love-knot', a colour described only as "yeux de fille en extase" was suggested, which translates as "the eyes of a girl in ecstasy". Even more suggestively, "la couleur de la cuisse d'une nymphe emue" was recommended for the Mathematical neckcloth - i.e, literally, the colour of a nymph's quivering thighs! In this print, the particular arrangement shown here, tied with the ends of the neckcloth flying free, is described as 'oreilles de lièvre' (i.e., hare's ears).

- Daniel Milford-Cottam, February 2012

Incroyable et Merveilleuse was a set of 33 engravings, published in 1814 , depicting extremely fashionable French men and women. They were engraved by George-Jacques Gatine after drawings by Horace Vernet and Louis-Marie Lanté. Whilst most fashion plates were on a small scale, designed to fit in women's magazines such as the Journal des Dames (which Gatine contributed to), the Incroyable et Merveilleuse plates were on a grander scale, designed for print collectors. Gatine's fashion engravings, particularly the Incroyable et Merveilleuse series, are now considered some of the finest records of French fashion of this period.

The Incroyable et Merveilleuse plates are particularly valuable as a record of men's fashion. This engraving shows a man in a green tail-coat cut away in front, worn over a pink and white striped waistcoat with white kerseymere breeches that button and tie at the knees. His black leather boots are called top-boots due to the buff-coloured cuff at the top. He carries a black high-crowned hat and a slim cane, and has a bunch of seals and fobs at his waist. Neckcloths were particularly important to the fashionable gentleman at this period, and were able to be folded and tied in many different ways. These styles often bore names such as Mathematical, Oriental and 'trone d'amour' (love-knot). The particular arrangement shown here, tied with the ends of the neckcloth flying free, is described as 'oreilles de lièvre', or hare's ears.

E.127-1947