Nostalgia/book reviews: L & F Funcken's Napoleonic Uniform Books

As a kid I'd take these wonderful books out on loan from the Cambridge Central Library, then in the Lion Yard (now the Cathedral of Capitalism known as The Grand Arcade), frequently running up fines, as I held onto them overly long, delighting in the artwork of Liliane et Fred Funcken.

Nice double page spreads as endpapers.

The fact the authors/illustrators were French added to the charm and romance. I'm not sure why, but right from the outset I was more interested in the French, first and foremost, and their allies - especially the crazy patchwork of tiny states that was to become the Confederation of the Rhine - and then the Russians, Austrians, Prussians.

The Russians.

I don't know quite how or why, but from very early on I sensed that the English and their minions were something of a sideshow. And - despite Wellington's role/achievements, or Nelson and the Navy, or even our primary contribution to the Napoleonic Wars, as bankers to the several European coalitions - I still feel this way.

It wasn't until many, many years had passed, including my near enough two-decade break from military miniatures and history, etc, that I bought these fab books for myself, at one of the wargaming shows I now ocassionally attend. I can't recall which show it was - I have a feeling it was Salute - or exactly which seller I got them from. Most likely it was either Lanchester or Meekins.

An attractively done vignette of Baron Larrey's 'flying ambulance'.

As in days of yore, it's the pics I'm primarily drawn to. Although, unlike when I was a nipper, I do now also read the text. The peacock finery of military uniformology reached a kind of apogee at this point. The Napoleonic era was and remains my favourite for martial attire. And as splendid as these books are - and what a pleasure it is to no longer rack up fines as I endlessly pore over these - I now need to supplement and extend my knowledge, so I have numerous other similar titles, including series like Osprey or Blandford, or collections of particular artists, like Rousselot.

A handy black and white 'glossary' spread. [1]

I've also learned that the Funckens worked with Hergé, producer of the fabulous Tintin series, and also a man with an avowed mission to educate youth. In the latter capacity he had the Funckens, through studio Hergé and its numerous projects, frequently producing all sorts of historical material. On one of my visits to the Waterloo battlefields I bought a rather attractive hardback that compiles a number of these works on the theme of Waterloo. It's fantastic. The only drawback is it's in French, and my French isn't exactly tres bon!

However, this post concerns their two Arms and Uniforms titles [2] on the Napoleonic Wars: Volume one covers the French army, including Napoleon and his staff, and everything else except the various formations of the Imperial Guard. Then it goes on to cover the British, Prussian and Spanish armies. Volume two starts with the Imperial Guard, and then moves on to 'Allies of the French' (from Confederation of the Rhine to Italy and Naples, etc.), and the Swedish, Austrian and Russian armies. Unsurprisingly, it's the French army that gets the fullest treatment. [3]

I absolutely love these two books, as they were a powerful part of my early interest in the period. Consequently the Funckens also have a special place on the nostalgia map of my soul!

In the foreground, a personal favourite: Eclaireur, 2nd Regt.

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NOTES:

[1] There are numerous illustrations of equipment, badges, flags, etc. Mostly in colour.

[2] The Arms and Uniforms series covered everything from the ancients, through medieval, right up to the two World Wars.

[3] As a result of this fuller coverage I've always had a soft spot for certain more obscure branches of the French military machine, from the artillery train, or the medics, to the Eclaireurs. Often based purely on the aesthetics/colour schemes of their uniforms!

Book Review: Osprey Men-at-Arms 56 - The Mexican American War, 1846-1848 - Katcher & Embleton

NB: In order not to infringe copyright, this review is illustrated with, excepting the cover image, pictures that are not from the Osprey book under review! [1]

I've had a soft spot for the Osprey Men-at-Arms titles since childhood, when I first bought a couple of the titles. When I sold off my childhood wargaming armies, I kept the Osprey books; there were just the two: numbers 55 and 64, Dragoons & Lancers, and Cuirassiers & Carabiniers, respectively, both by the exotically consmopolitan sounding team of Emir Bukhari and Angus McBride.

The series as a whole had a certain allure for me, as they combinend the fascination I've always had for military couture, and the accosciated tradition of uniform illustration, with a small and collectible format. I had loved, when even younger still, collecting Tintin and Asterix. These more martial titles had a similar appeal to my tendency to serial acquisitiveness.

A beautiful plate from volume 1 of Liliane & Fred Funcken's Arms & Uniforms of the Napoleonic Wars, showing a motley and colourful collection of French Hussars.

However, it wasn't long before I also twigged that they were a potentially very costly way to gather the info I needed. Ever since that realisation, I've been very chary of buying them. Preferring instead to spend larger sums on more compressive works, like the two-volume L&F Funcken Arms & Uniforms titles (see above pic.), or the collected Rousselot plates, as a more cost-effective means to research 1st Empire uniformology.

Having returned to my childhood interests in military history and culture, in tandem with model making and wargaming - or at least figure collecting - I'm beginning to tentatively widen my interests a little, beyond the two former enclaves of Napoleonic and WWII stuff I used to concentrate on, and have returned to (as familiar first ports of call).

The American Civil War has always been another background interest of mine, but one that had lain largely unexplored, apart from a few magazine articles (for more on my obsession with certain ACW battlefield maps, see my previous posts [links to be added!]), and a couple of packs of Airfix 20mm plastic figures, one each of Confederate and Union!

A dragoon and a 1st lieutenant of infantry, wearing uniforms typical of Regular Army soldiers during the Mexican War. (Source: From H. Charles McBarron’s The American Soldier, 1847, Army Art Collection)

Looking into the ACW more deeply - I gradually acquired several books, and eventually bought and watched Ken Burns' epic and fantastic PBS series - alerted me to the Mexican American wars. Occasional references to this campaign in various places, especially the odd pic. or two, intrigued me, as the US troops were already starting to look more like they would in the ACW, whilst the Mexicans still clearly looked back to the 1st Empire of France, sartorially speaking.

This slim volume concentrates on uniform info, with only very brief summaries regarding the backgrounds of the antagonists, and, at the end of the book, a very slim synopsis of the military actions and the troops involved. I harbour a very long-standing desire, only explored in the most desultory and tentative manner as a kid many moons ago, to start sculpting and casting my own figures, and I have, more recently, entertained thoughts of starting with this conflict. Indeed, that's why I bought this book.

A number of black and white images by the artist James Walker are used in this book, although not this one (if I recall aright?), of The Battle of Chapultepec.

It's certainly a good starting place, on the subject of uniforms of the Mexican American War, but it leaves one wanting much more, and I suspect I'll use this book, and the notes it gives on sources, to find further and more unit specific ref. Gerry Embleton's artworks are very good, although not quite as much to my tastes as the work of my favourite Osprey illustrator, Angus McBride.

I'm no expert even on my chief areas of interest, such as Napoleonics, let alone in an area such as this, which is completely new to me, so I can't really judge the quality of the information in terms of accuracy, but the book certainly seems very usefully informative for a newbie like me. I do think there should be a glossary of terms as a standard feature in all such books, and sometimes Philip Katcher's writing style is less than crystalline in terms of clarity.

Gen. Winfield Scott, at the battle of Veracruz (source: Wikipedia 

commons). This is clearly before he grew to fat to sit a horse!

In addition to the standard Men-at-Arms format whereby you get eight pages of full-colour 'plates' in the centre of the book, there are numerous black and white pictures, many by an artist called James A Walker, whose work I will definitely investigate further online. There are also some interesting photos of actual weapons and uniforms, and a few of the leading figures, like US General Winfield Scott.

I got my brand new copy relatively cheap via Amazon UK's 'market-place', and think it a worthwhile addition to my militaria library. But I wouldn't say it's amazing value for money, as it's such a slight affair. I read it all the way through, sitting in a cafe one afternoon, in about 2-3 hours! So textually and visually, as informative as it is, it's really just a convenient introduction to what is undoubtedly, despite the short duration of the conflict at just two years, a much bigger subject.

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[1] I'm thinking I might well contact Osprey to ask if they'll give me permission to use a colour plate or two to better illustrate this post.