Album militaire: Illustrated French manuscript on paper

Album militaire. Illustrated French manuscript on paper. No place (Evreux ?, 1860). 432 original watercolour plates with uniforms of French miltary, heigthened with gum Arabic (recte 429, lacking plates 10, 11 and 38) and including a richly illustrated main title and 4 unillustrated half-titles. 1. Armée Fancaise 1806 à 1814 (plates 122-181) - 2. Garde Impériale de Napoléon III 1858 à 1859 (plates 182-330) - 3. Armèe Francaise (plates 331-392) - 4. Armèe d'Afrique (plates 393-432). Each plate with manuscript caption in brown ink, and framed by double rules in brown ink. Cont. half calf, flat spine richly gilt with gilt stamped title "Album Militaire" and the name "Picro". 4to (311 x 230 mm). Spine damaged, hinges split but still holding, boards heavily rubbed, edges worn.

A magnificent collection of watercolours of French military in chronological order, starting with plate 2 with a warrior of the 5. century through plate 32 with an infanteryman of 1680. Plates 33 through 43 covers the period from 1725 to 1787. Plate 44 shows Napoleon as lieutenant of the artillery in 1787, with 15 further images of Napoleon at various stages of his career (plates 71, 72, 145, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160) ; plates 73 through 79 with portraits of French generals on horseback (Eugéne Beauharnais, Joachim Murat, Joseph Poniatowski, Jouslt, Bessiers, Davoust, Mortier). Most plates represent one or two soldiers on foot or on horseback of various ranks and of the different branches of the armed forces, with a few battle scenes also included. Front fly-leaf with a later manuscript entry "Picro - brigadier au 5e regt. de cuirassiers à Evreux, engagé volontaire le 24 mars 1855". Plate 392 signed and dated "Fini le 13. Janvier 1860 H.-16 (?)". Plates are wide margined and quite fresh, in brillant colours.