Napoleonic Uniforms: v. 1 & 2 - Hardcover

John R. Elting

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 185367737X ISBN 13: 9781853677373

Publisher: Greenhill Books, 2007

Synopsis

In 1993 The Macmillan Publishing Company set the Napoleonic enthusiast community alight when it produced the major two volume work, Napoleonic Uniforms by John R. Elting, featuring the superb works of the famous illustrator Herbert Knotel. Now, in an unprecedented transatlantic co-operation, Greenhill Books in London and Casemate Publishing in the USA are together bringing these books back into print after some 14 years.

This new edition, as before, will be sold as a two volume set. In addition, the new edition will be presented in a cloth bound slipcase. Pagination and an index have been added, significantly enhancing its reference value.

Napoleonic Uniforms is the only reference work of its kind to depict accurately the entire Grande Arme'e in detail. It portrays the French armies as seen by their contemporaries, and combines authoritative text with lavish illustrations, enabling the reader to experience the spectacle first hand.

Napoleonic Uniforms also depicts the various types of soldiers within the various regiments of the Grande Arme'e - officers, sergeants, color-bearers, bandsmen, drummers and trumpeters, privates and surgeons. In addition the volumes contain material on lesser-known formations such as the Army of Egypt (1798 - 1801), the pre-Revolutionary French Army, and Napoleon's police and internal security organizations.

Nine hundred and eighteen original watercolors by Herbert Knotel, an internationally acclaimed authority on military uniforms, with a special talent for depicting men and horses in action, bring the nineteenth-century French soldier to life. Together with the late Colonel John R. Elting's definitive captions, they preserve a significant aspect of this famous era for historians, researchers, teachers, students, model makers, "uniformologists", and the general reader interested in this historical period.

About this title

From Library Journal:

This unique work illustrates French military costumes from the 1780s to 1830: infantry, cavalry, engineers, musicians, cadets, aviators (in a balloon corps!), fencing masters, Swiss Guards (and other foreign units under French command), and many other categories. All ranks are shown, as are the distinctive uniforms of many different regiments. Elting, a military historian, supplies informative comments on each plate. The nearly 2000 watercolors were painted for him by Knotel (d. 1963), a German authority on military costume whose father Richard (d. 1914) was in his time the world's leading expert in the field. The younger Knotel's Handbuch der Uniformkunde (Hamburg: Schulz, 1937; 7th ed.) is a classic but does not compare in beauty with the present work. Though Napoleonic Uniforms has an inadequate glossary and lacks page numbers, index, and an over-all table of contents, it is indispensable to anyone seriously interested in the subject.
- Margarete Gross, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review:

Along with the striking artwork by Herbert Knötel, Elting's tome provides the background and history of each uniform of the various types of soldiers in the Grand Armée (who would have thought there could be so many?). Besides historians, toy soldier buffs will love this title. A stunner. (Library Journal)

This edition is quite stunning! From its gold embossed red cloth covers with stitched binding to its beribboned red slip case it is destined to be a collector's item very quickly! (R. Burnham, The Napoleonic Series)

A Major Upgrade of an Outstanding Work!...Anyone interested in Napoleon and/or military art in general will want a copy of this truly outstanding set. Knötel captured the soldiers in a unique and fascinating way that makes the viewer feel he is seeing them as they really were. Congratulations to Greenhill and Casemate for bringing this important work back to life. I am certain that John would be very pleased! (J. David Markham, Historian/Author, www.NapoleonicHistory.com)

About this edition

• Publisher: Greenhill Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 185367737X
• ISBN 13: 9781853677373
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 424
• Illustrator: Herbert Knötel