James Robinson Planché (27 February 1796 – 30 May 1880) was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including extravaganza, farce, comedy, burletta, melodrama and opera. Planché was responsible for introducing historically accurate costume into nineteenth century British theatre, and subsequently became an acknowledged expert on historical costume, publishing a number of works on the topic. Planché's interest in historical costume led to other antiquarian research, including heraldry and genealogy. He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1829, and was influential in the foundation of the British Archaeological Association in 1843. Appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant in 1854 and promoted to Somerset Herald in 1866, Planché undertook heraldic and ceremonial duties as a member of the College of Arms. These included proclaiming peace at the end of the Crimean War and investing foreign monarchs with the Order of the Garter. Early and personal life James Robinson Planché was born in Old Burlington St, Piccadilly, London in 1796 to Jacques Planché and Catherine Emily Planché. His parents were first cousins and descendants of Huguenot refugees who had fled to England in 1685 following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Jacques Planché was a moderately prosperous watchmaker, a trade he had learned in Geneva, and was personally known to King George III. His name was pronounced "plank" or "planky" for the beginning of his life, but he added, or rather re-added, the accent to his name, restoring the French pronunciation. However, after doing this, editors would sometimes jab at Planché writing "that a particular work of 'Mr. Plank' was 'wooden. Planché was educated at home until the age of eight by his mother (who had written a treatise on education). He did not continue his home education, as his mother took ill and died when Planché was nine years old. He was then sent to boarding school where, in his words: "I was imperfected, and untaught the French I spoke fluently as a child." In 1808 he was apprenticed to a French landscape painter, Monsieur de Court, where he studied perspective and geometry, which would later help him in his theatre endeavours. However this apprenticeship was curtailed by de Court's death two years later. Planché was then articled as an apprentice to a bookseller, with the