Hoof Prints has the finest selection of antique equestrian engravings dating back to 1627. As these are all rare, the inventory is continually changing.
The following are antique equestrian prints that have been available in the past. Prices range from $150 - $780. Any hand coloring has been carried out by specially selected contemporary artists.
For information on current availability and pricing, please call 610-696-3422 or e-mail penny@hoofprintstudio.com.
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Two posters, each one depicting nine exquisitely detailed reproductions of rare antique engravings from Encyclopedie Diderot et D'Alembert "Manege et Equitation" , 1769. The prints are 18" x 24"
- Unframed - $20.00 + S&H
- Framed (with dry-mounting and black metal frame) - $95.00 + S&H
Other custom framing options are available on request
Poster
1 Poster
2
Click on the thumbnails below to view a larger copy of the print.
Duke of Newcastle - 1737
These 1737 hand-colored engravings are from "The General System of Horsemanship" by William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle.
The English always preferred hunting and racing to manege riding and the latter had only one important champion: William Cavendish. His book was first published while the Duke was living on the Continent as a refugee from the Cromwellian regime. There he evidently developed a great taste for the French manege riding. Although widely read in all equestrian literature, Newcastle carefully formulated his own rules for training horses, which were based on the then unusual concept of endeavoring to understand the mind of the horse and to achieve the discipline required for show riding not by brute force but by "...mixing gentleness with help and corrections".
The plates in his book were a permanent record of his methods for his aristocratic clientele. This book is recommended reading for those dressage riders taking the L Judge's Program.
Plate Size: 20-1/2"x15-1/2"
Plate Size: 21"x15'1/2"Duke of Newcastle - 1700
These 1700 engravings are from "The New Method of Training Horses" by William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle. Some are hand-colored and some are in their original condition.
Haute ecole, the science of schooling a horse in the complex routines of the manege, was best known because of the celebrated Spanish Riding School in Vienna. In England, it was not so popular. It had been introduced into the country by Henry VIII and was favored by subsequent Tudor monarchs and Charles I. Charles II was not an enthusiast, preferring the more conventional equestrian pursuits of hunting and racing and, without the support of the monarch, haute ecole floundered.
William Cavendish, who was probably Charles II's govenor as a boy, was a passionate advocate of the technique. He published the most lavish work ever produced by an Englishman on the horse, Methode et Invention Nouvelle de Dresser les Chevaux, which was printed in Antwerp just after the Civil War. Inspired by the great riding school at Welbeck, the Duke of Newcastle set up a riding school at Bolsover to accommodate his passion for horses and haute ecole. Bolsover Castle stands to this day.
Plate Size: 14-1/2"x11-1/4"
Plate Size: 14-1/2"x11-1/4"
Plate Size: 14-1/4"x11-1/4"Pluvinel - 1628
These 1628 hand-colored engravings come from Pluvinel's "Maneige Royal". This famous book was written as a dialogue between the future king Louis XIII and himself. In this Edition, the plates were designed by Crispin de Pas and engraved by Merian.
In 1594, Pluvinel founded an academy in Paris for young noblemen. This was not only a riding academy; mathematics, literature, poetry, painting, and music were also taught. It was a kind of "finishing school" for gentlemen. Pluvinel was to some extent employed in the education of Louis XIII.
Pluvinel was known for being an outstanding horseman, innovator and teacher; a man who contributed considerably to the development of horsemanship in France. He believed in the use of gentling as a means of training horse and rider.
Plate Size: 12"x8-1/4"
Plate Size: 11-3/4"x8"Pluvinel - 1627
These 1627 engravings are from Pluvinel's "L'Instruction du Roy" and were by the fine artist Crispin de Pas.
Pluvinel was a renowned 16th Century rider who was instructor to the future King Louis XIII. His work lays the basis for discipline through gentleness and understanding of the horse's mind, in particular making use of the horse's excellent memory which, if filled with bad experiences, could spoil the horse forever.
Pluvinel exhorted the patient, humane approach. He is also generally regarded as the first person to explain adequately the use of the pillars with which he liked to assess the horse, his temperament and his movements without the weight of the rider.
Plate Size: 16-1/2"x12-3/4"
Plate Size: 16-1/2"x12-3/4"D'Eisenberg 1747
These 1747 engravings are from "Description du Manege Moderne" by Le Baron D'Eisenberg.
Baron D'Eisenberg wrote and illustrated a fascinating book giving a full description of horsemanship which he dedicated to King George II and to his son, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. In it he undertook to illustrate and describe the art of training cavaliers and their horses, and subscribers to the book included royalty and nobility from all over Europe.
The engraver of these fine plates was Bernard Picart, born in Paris in 1673, who gained honors at the Academy of Paris at the age of sixteen. He was a master designer and engraver and worked in Paris and Amsterdam until his death in 1733.
Plate Size: 12"x9"
Plate Size: 12"x9"Andrade 1790
These 1790 hand-colored engravings are from Andrade's book "Luz da Liberal, e Nobre Arte da Cavallaria" (Illustration of the free and noble art of horsemanship).
Manuel Carlos Andrade was ecuyer to the accomplished rider the Marquess of Marialva (sometimes referred to as the Gueriniere of the Iberian Pennisula). Many of the engravings show Marialva using his progressive system of exercises to achieve lightness in all movements with the horse always rounded and supple in his loins and quarters.
Andrade urges his readers to understand that, in riding, everything is connected to everything else and that, unless everything is balanced and in alignment, true security and harmony of posture will not be achieved. The Andrade family are still breeding fine Lusitano stallions at their stud in Portugal to this day and Andrade's book is revered as the classical horseman's Bible of Spain and Portugal.
Plate Size: 7-1/2"x11-5/8"
Plate Size: 7"x10-1/2"Diderot et D'Alembert 1769
These fine copperplate engravings are from the Manege et Equitation section of L'Encyclopedie Diderot et D'Alembert. This large encyclopedia of applied science was compiled in the 1700s by a group of experts at that time. Diderot was responsible for putting the information in order.
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 7"x9-1/2"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 9"x14"
Plate Size: 13-1/2"x9-1/2"Georgii Simonis Winteri "Bellerophon" 1678
These engravings are the illustrations from a large book compiled to instruct readers on the training of horses in dressage movements to prepare them for war and also to improve the readers' expertise in equine veterinary care. The book was published in Nuremberg in 1678.
Plate Size: 11-5/8x7-3/4"
Plate Size: 10-3/4"x6-3/4"Histoire Pittoresque de L'Equitation 1833
These beautiful copperplate engravings are on handmade cotton paper and were used to illustrate this pictorial history of riding.
Plate Size: 11-1/2"x15-1/2"
Plate Size: 11-1/4"x15"
Plate Size: 11-1/4"x15-1/4"
Plate Size: 11"x16"
