Commandant E.L. Bucquoy: \"Les Uniformes du Premier Empire\"

Card Series #221 \"Le Corps des Grenadiers a Pied de la Garde
Grenadiers - Vieille et Moyenne Garde 1812-1815\"

8 Hand Colored Cards with Original Envelope

Artists: Lapeyre, Bucquoy, Giffard, & Boisselier

Starting with series number 226 and working my way down toseries \"numero 1\" (and all the series in between) I will be offeringeight series per week. Should I have theoriginal envelope (about 60% of the series) then it will be included as well asspecific text material published with that individual series number. The exception will occur when the textmaterial covers multiple series where the text will be offered for saleseparately. In the same vein, in the onecase where the envelope is actually a box constructed to hold the entire seriescovering the cuirassiers, I have included a color photocopy of the box coverwith each of the series making up the cuirassier set (the box will be soldseparately).

Condition: when collecting my set of cards, I did not insiston perfection. Some of the cards (by nomeans even a large minority of the cards) show evidence of having been mountedon the rear. There will be a very occasionalsmall bent corner and I think in two cases a small missing corner (noteffecting the image). I will try to makespecific comments associated with individual sales.

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Starting about 1910 and running for the next forty years,\"Le Commandant Bucquoy\" (probably just a Lieutenant when he started)published his most important effort trying to cover the vast subject of FrenchNapoleonic uniforms. It was an effortthat was incomplete. Off the top of myhead, the Grenadiers a Cheval & Carabiniers were not covered in any depth. However, that being said, this effortcontinues to be unprecedented in its depth and unimpeachability

Gathering the best military illustrators of his day(actually 40 years of days) Bucquoy publications documented the efforts of the\"Golden Age\" of uniformology.The \"Cards\" were based on uniforms regs, contemporarydocuments/artwork and secondary documentation (of the highest pedigree). The artists included: JOB, Feist, Benigni,Boisselier, Giffard, Huen, Toussaint, Rousselot, Leroux, Brecht, Knotel DJ, Lapeyre(Why was Lajoux not included?) etcetera.

So little is known about these artists and the depth oftheir work. Taking Boisselier forexample, a contact of the Brown Collection at Brown University proved fruitlessin an effort to reveal the many print series that Boisselier (and Bueno)completed for Henri Achard in the 1950\'s.God help us, doctorfatty knew more than this esteemed institution about theBoisselier/Achard connection (and Mrs. doctorfatty will tell you thatdoctorfstty knows nothing!)

This leads me to beg Yves Martin to use his unparalleled knowledge/contacts/influenceto document what these artists contributed to the Golden Age ofuniformology. No-one else can do it, andalthough still a relatively young man, if he does not do it in his lifetime,the knowledge will go with him. Get offyour butt Yves!