Things One Sees in the R.A.S.C.

Comical equine and soldier-related manuscript. R.A.S.C. stands for the Royal Army Service Corp, which was responsible for transportation logistics to the British army. R.F.A. was an abbreviation for Royal Fleet Auxiliary, which is a naval arm. So it would appear this is a naval officer making fun of his land-based colleagues who are not up to snuff as horsemen, at a time that the horse still had an huge role in combat (although the era was coming to a close just then. N.d., First World War period, probably earlier in the war. Oblong, 13 by 19 cm. Title followed by six leaves, each with a full page watercolor and short humorous caption. In these depictions of army life, the antagonists are entirely horses, who outsmart and dominate the men. The only hint of a war is that the local language is French, and the several of the buildings look a lot more French than English. The humor from the few words is likely to fall flat with modern audiences, but the visual scene should tickle and please. The horses are well-rendered, and Marchant is able to capture their motion effectively. His men are not quite as fully realized, but there are several caricatures that are well-done, and other figures, although sketchily done, might be similarly drawn by a professional illustrator in the particular scene. Some stains on the title and within. No real compromise to the imagery. Title leaf about 3 cm less wide than rest. We don't know for sure whether the strip was cut later, or this is the way it always was, but we tend to think the former, based on the contours of a stain. One spine staple gone.…