"1858 Photos of Napoleonic vets in uniform:" Topic

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A remarkable record. Thank you.

Ron

Yes in Deed!
Bravo!
MG

2 random thoughts:

Wow, the epaulets sure are big and jaunty.

What exactly is the "24th Regiment of the Guard"? Some of the captions seem off.

I wondered too about that 24th Rgt business. But no matter, the pictures are excellent, and it is really great to see the czapka of the lancers in living black and white!

That is quite amazing. Interesing that they all still had thier uniforms. But I was discharged in 1983 and I still have my uniform in one of my closets. Probably does not fit me now.

Wow.

Another version with a bit more text here:
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Amazing photos alright.

These are often reproduced (eg Anatomy of Glory) and are a marvelous record, but there are some good points made above. To be original these uniforms must have survived decades in the attic and then still fit these chaps, who do seem likely to have filled out with maturity. The site concedes uniforms are "let out"…….looks much more than that to me.

Now look at the style and cut of the Uniforms. Indeed huge epaulettes, the bearskin of the grenadier, the lancer's czapka, the level of the waistline. Much is Second Empire style.

These are the original men nicely done up in reconstructed rig, in the contemporary style, using some original kit. The dragoon is probably the shakiest representation for Napoleon I era. See earlier discussions

TMP link
TMP link

Why do we never see Wellington's men in their uniforms in later photos? Indeed, why only a single photo of the Iron Duke himself, when the technology was so well established before his death?

Good points deadhead.

What wonderful pictures. I was actually surprised at how trim many – altho' admittedly not all – of those old fellows were! Some of those guys still have a dash of the 'beau sabreur' about them as well: I love the rakish tilt of Monsieur Verlinde's czapska!

Not yet having read the other related threads that deadhead links to – and the authenticity of the dress is of course a fascinating and important point to us Napoleonic buffs – I'll confine myself to what I hope is a much more general observation, a point that I notice nobody's mentioned on this thread yet (tho' it may of course be picked up in the other threads deadhead refers to): the way the hussar and chasseur pelisse is worn.

In all instances where there is such a garment amongst these photos it very clearly hangs OFF the shoulder. I think that in almost every other image I've seen, whether contemporary or later, and most of those of which I'm initially thinking are non photographic*, the pelisse has sat ON the shoulder! Only a small thing, I know, but I've noticed Napoleonic freaks (and I count myself as one such) are often obsessed by such small things.

* These representations have of course now extended into film and photography: the photo of 'Monsieur Moret, 2nd Regiment, 1814-15' put me in mind of Harvey Keitel in The Duellist!

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There are four guys wearing a pelisse in these photos, and of those four, only M. Fabry's get anywhere close to the shoulder, and even then it's definitely more off than on. More typical is the aforementioned M. Moret:

Compare that with (in descending order of contemporaneity) Gericault, Knötel, the Funckens, and even Carradine and Keitel:

and NOT a one of them has an unbuttoned blouse with a hand tucked inside ~!!!!!!!!!!

the uniforms are second Empire and not Napoleonic

von Winterfedlt, why do you say that?

Number 1 (the Grenadier)

Number 4 (the Mameluk)

Number 5

Number 11

are definitely First Empire.

No, they are reconstructions of First Empire Dress, very much reflecting the fashions and styles of Second Empire.The Mameluk I accept looks right, but the rest are all wrong. The Bearskin is a massive thing, the epaulettes and fringes huge, the trouser overalls too baggy……this is the fashion of 40 years later.

Nothing wrong with this. These are the real folk (presumably!) wearing a close approximation to their rig when they were much younger and thinner. I wish we had such for the Anglo Allied or Prussian armies!!!!!

I hope von W will answer with far more authority than I can offer though.

@ Nashville – have you noticed how the hand gets steadily higher:

Napoleon – gut level
McClellan – belly-button level
Custer – solar plexus

If the trend continued in that vein …

Bismarck would be groping his own tit!
Haig would be grabbing his own throat!!
Rommel would have given himself a face-slap!!!

… shocking!

Mind you, working backwards then, what would Marlborough have done with his right hand?

Was just about to pronounce with authority that was Hancock and not McClellan……….till I checked!