Greenhill, 2002, 16.95, ISBN 1-85367-520-2, 94 pages, oversize softcover

Napoleon’s new uniform regulations, started in 1811 and published 1812, received color paintings in addition to text descriptions. Vernet was selected as principle painter and he and his assistants produced 244 of these marvelous illustrations.

This book reproduces 77 of them--truly a magnificent collection. All three arms are represented, with most in field dress, but with some in full dress, cloaks, “society dress,” and other official dress. Captions are simply the unit name, sometimes modified by the “dress” type.

Originally published in 2001 by the Musea de l’Armee in Paris, the one fault of the book is the lack of either a table of contents or index. As it stands, you have to page through the book to learn which units are represented. That is a tremendous pleasure at first, but if you were using this as a reference, it is less than convenient.

All told, this makes a wonderful addition to a Napoleonic buff’s library.

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