Les Epogee Napoleonienne
(The Napoleonic Epic)

Book Review

Reviewed by Yves Martin

Author: F.G. Hourtoulle with illustrations by Jack Jirbal
Pages: 207
Illustrations: 79 color plates
Maps: None
Footnotes: None
Appendices: None
Bibliography: None
Index: None
Publisher: Histoire et Collections, 5 avenue de la Republique, 75541 Paris cedex 11, France. Available in the USA through Combined Publishing, P.O. Box 307, Conshohocken, PA 19428. Publication Date: 1997
Binding: Cloth with color jacket (hardbound)
ISBN: 2 908 182 696
Price: 320 FF ($55)
Summary: This is a reprint in one volume of the full set of uniform plates "Soldats & Uniformes du Premier Empire" published by Hourtoulle and Jirbal. These are attractive and often cover little-known aspects and uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars. Although the book is in French and does present some technical problems, given the overall quality of the work and its scope, it is recommended.

In the 1960s, Doctor Hourtoulle, a passionate amateur of all things Napoleonic, with the help of artist Jack Jirbal, published a series of plates called "Soldiers and Uniforms of the First Empire." Their aim was not to compete with the plates done by M. Lucien Rousselot or those later created by M. Albert Rigondaud ("Rigo"). The focus was on representing Napoleonic troops in action or in their daily life. Each plate displayed a variety of dress, set within a relevant context. The scope was also not limited to the French, but included some of their allies and enemies.

For example, the battle of Quatre- Bras (1815) was depicted in three plates: one showing the Gordon Highlanders; one representing the Prince of Orange and his staff; and one devoted to the Duke of Brunswick and his troops (all Anglo-Allied forces). Jack Jirbal was a wonderfully gifted artist whose style was not unlike that of Charles McBarron, which lent itself well to animated scenes. The plates were originally published privately and were individually highlighted with water- based paints — especially metallics. The overall result from an artistic standpoint was rather unique. Several pages of text usually accompanied the plates, combining both historical background with data on the uniforms or regiments being depicted. The series stopped in the early 1970s following Jack Jirbal's death.

Although an ample stock kept the original plates available for some time afterwards, they are now out of print. Occasionally, one can find them on the second-hand market, but a full set is rare. Although they do not command as high a price as a complete set of Rousselot plates, they are still expensive if you can find them.

Histoire et Collections, probably the largest publishing house of militaria- related publications in France, has published the full set of Jirbal uniform plates in one affordable hardbound volume. This is a wonderful idea and they should be complimented on making these prints available again. Unfortunately, the book is marred by a few technical problems.

First, there is an obvious difficulty when it comes to reproducing the Jirbal plates. The original highlighting done with water-based paints is certainly difficult to reproduce, and the result does look somewhat "flat" to anyone who has seen the originals. Also, the plates have been "reframed" to fit on the pages. This resulted in some unfortunate trimming.

Overall, these are not as serious as the incredible number of typos and printing mistakes. One plate of the chevau-légers de Berg ended up being printed twice, resulting in the omission of the Gendarmes d'Ordonnance. In numerous cases captions have been inverted, etc.

These mistakes were corrected with the inclusion of a separate sheet with the missing plate and a list of all the text errors. However, it is not up to the usual high quality produced by Histoire et Collections. Each plate is accompanied by a lot of French text, so non-French readers may feel frustrated. Since the Jirbal illustrations are the main attraction, the book is still certainly worth the price!

Some of the little-known topics covered include the Isembourg Regiment, Saxon Chevau-Légers, a full suite of Marshal Murat's gaudy uniforms along with his Neapolitan army, French Navy artillery fighting as foot regiments at Leipzig, Corsican tirailleurs storming the bridge at Ebersberg, etc. Jirbal's uniform plates are a vivid representation of these units and events, and can be an excellent source of inspiration for modelers, wargamers, and collectors.

Perhaps this recent trend of publishing out-of-print uniform plates will continue and we will again see the work of Forthoffer, Rigo, and Baron Louis de Beaufort's Waterloo series come back as affordable volumes.

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