The French artist de Larmessin created a series 'Fancy Trade
Costumes'. Who was de Larmessin and when did he live? What other art
did he create?

Dear kim34,

The de Larmessin (also: de L'Armessin) family was a famous French
dynasty of engravers, printers, and booksellers active during the 17th
and 18th centuries.

The "Fancy Trade Costumes" series - "Les costumes grotesques et les
métiers" - is the work of French engraver Nicolas de Larmessin II (b.
about 1638, d. 1694), though occasionally those prints are attributed
to Nicolas Larmessin III (b. about 1640, d. 1725). It is not
impossible that actually both of them worked on the extensive series
of prints. The series originally appeared in print in 1695, published
in Paris by the Larmessins' own publishing house.

Larmessin created numerous engravings for books, calendars, almanacs
and decorative purposes. Here are additional examples of his work:


Portrait of Pierre Aretin
http://www.ewolfs.com/past_auctions/june_art/images/B00659-09-02.jpg
Source:
eWolfs.com
http://www.ewolfs.com/past_auctions/june_art/31.html

Portrait of Jeanne Uccello
http://www.ewolfs.com/past_auctions/june_art/images/B00659-09-05.jpg 
Source:
eWolfs.com
http://www.ewolfs.com/past_auctions/june_art/31.html

Portrait of Michel de Montaigne, 1659
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/montaigne/portrait/012-Larmessin-1659.jpg
Source:
University of Chicago: Montaigne Studies - Portrait Gallery
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/montaigne/h/gallery/

Portrait of Marco d´Aviano, 1681
http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.data.image.m/m137579a.jpg
Source:
AEIOU: Marco d´Aviano eigentlich Carlo Domenico Cristofori
http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.m/m137579.htm

King Louis XIV and the Royal Family, 1682
http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/bildzeug/qtvr/DHM/n/BuZKopie/raum905.jpg
Source:
Deutsches Historisches Museum: Almanache Ludwig XIV.
http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/bildzeug/qtvr/DHM/n/BuZKopie/raum_09.05.htm



By Nicolas de Larmessin III:

Portrait of Henri IV, King of France 
http://www.folger.edu/newimages/EXH0075.jpg
Source:
Folger Shakespeare Library: Henri IV
http://www.folger.edu/public/exhibit/elizabeth/henriiv.asp


Sources:

Giornale Nuovo: Costumes Grotesques
http://www.spamula.net/blog/archives/000168.html

Libraria Honmaniana
http://virgil.at.infoseek.co.jp/jigoku003.htm


Search terms used:
Larmessin "fancy trade costumes"
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"Nicolas de Larmessin"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22Nicolas+de+Larmessin%22&btnG=Google-Suche
"Nicolas  de  Larmessin" 1725
://www.google.de/search?q=%22Nicolas++de++Larmessin%22+1725&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&btnG=Google-Suche
larmessin nicolas
://www.google.de/search?q=larmessin+nicolas&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=250&sa=N
"l armessin"
://www.google.de/search?q=%22l+armessin%22&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=40&sa=N
"Costumes Grotesques" larmessin
://www.google.de/search?q=%22Costumes+Grotesques%22+larmessin&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=10&sa=N
"larmessin iii"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22larmessin+iii%22&btnG=Google-Suche


Best regards,
Scriptor