French General Officers, Staff Officers and Aides de Camp 1734-1890
By Philip Cranz
6 Pages of text and 34 color plates.
Ever since armies began to wear uniforms, senior officers have set out to sartorially distinguish themselves from men they commanded. Inevitably this led to excess and puffery but, on the whole most generals and their staffs dressed simply and comfortably in the field. France was much the same as other countries in the profuse use of gold lace (usually of a floral design such as laurels or oak leaves) and by the Napoleonic Wars uniforms reached their zenith. However, by the end of the nineteenth century, despite a preponderance of gold lace, General Officers were wearing simpler attire. Lienhart and Humbert included an important study of the uniforms of General and staff officers in their 1904 work and it is reproduced here with all the minutia and detail provided. As with all Uniformology books, an informative text accompanies the plates.
By Philip Cranz
6 Pages of text and 34 color plates.
Ever since armies began to wear uniforms, senior officers have set out to sartorially distinguish themselves from men they commanded. Inevitably this led to excess and puffery but, on the whole most generals and their staffs dressed simply and comfortably in the field. France was much the same as other countries in the profuse use of gold lace (usually of a floral design such as laurels or oak leaves) and by the Napoleonic Wars uniforms reached their zenith. However, by the end of the nineteenth century, despite a preponderance of gold lace, General Officers were wearing simpler attire. Lienhart and Humbert included an important study of the uniforms of General and staff officers in their 1904 work and it is reproduced here with all the minutia and detail provided. As with all Uniformology books, an informative text accompanies the plates.