Le Manuscrit de Weiland
Reader's Review
Uniformes de l'Armée Francaise et de ses Alliés de 1806 à 1815
Reviewed by John Cook
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Text by Alain Pigeard The publication of contemporary Napoleonic uniform illustrations is once again very much in fashion - a fashion that is to be applauded - witness, for example, the two volumes excellently edited by Guy Dempsey for Arms and Armour Press.1 This slim volume is most definitely in a similar vein and will be warmly welcomed by anyone with an interest in Napoleonic uniforms. Weiland was a Württemberger officer in the service of the Kingdom of Prussia who resigned after the disasters of Jena/Austerdädt and published his first series of 148 coloured copper plates in Weimar in 1807, with a second series following in 1812 - it is this latter which is reproduced for the most part in this work. The subjects are, to say the least, very varied and would appear to have been all drawn from life varying from the to be expected French Staff, Imperial Guard, and Line troops to troops of the Kingdom of Italy and the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and a wide variety of the armies of the Confederation of the Rhine states. The style of artwork is not dissimilar in many ways to that of the Otto Manuscript but with all subjects shown either from a full front or a part front perspective - no rear views, the usual practice with contemporary illustrations but one which causes a great deal of frustration nearly two hundred years later!. Nonetheless Weiland's plates show some interesting and otherwise unrecorded variants on the regulations such as the eagle turnback devices on the Foot Grenadier of the Imperial Guard (no. 13), the pointed lapels piped white of the 1er Suisse (no.49), and the falling plume on the carabinier of the Italian 1er Light Infantry (no.51). Mr Pigeard gives a brief (actually probably too brief since you are left wanting to know more) introduction and also has added a short text to each plate, although this concerns the unit rather than the illustration - a plate commentary highlighting eccentricities would perhaps have proved more useful. This text appears in French, German and English but the latter translation at least is quite horrid (I don't read German well enough to comment on that language's text) with some horrendous translations : "Adjutant Commandant" becomes "Warrant Officer in chief' (p7), "Sapeur" is translated as "fireman" (p11), "Chasseur à Cheval de la Garde" becomes "Cavalryman of the Guard" (p15 and throughout) foot "Chasseur" becomes "Sharp-shooter" (throughout), etc., - and that's just the titles, the text itself is sometimes worse. It is obvious that the translator does not speak English well and has little military knowledge so the gist is to be wary of the English text and consult the Pigeard's original French wherever you can. This caveat aside Tradition are to be heartily congratulated for making Weiland's work generally available and I would unreservedly recommend it as an invaluable addition to any library of Napoleonic uniform. It is available in the UK from Hersant's Military Books and of course, direct from the publishers. The next publication in the series is the 'Bourgeois de Hambourg' manuscript, also known as the 'Suhr Manuscript' and it is to be hoped that the series will continue after that, perhaps we might see a reissue of the famous El Guil manuscript of military dress in the Peninsula? Stephen Ede-Borrett 1 Napoleon's Soldiers : The Grande Armée of 1807 as Depicted in the Paintings of the Otto Manuscript London 1994. Napoleon's Army 1807-1814. as Depicted in the Prints of Aaron Martinet : London 1997. More Reviews Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #42 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |