(Prussian Military) | Die Uniformen der Preussischen Garden, very uncommon

(Prussian Military)

Die Uniformen der Preussischen Garden, von ihrem Entstehen bis auf die neueste Zeit, nebst einer kurzen geschichtlichen Darstellung ihrer verschiedener Formationen, 1704–1836. Berlin: George Gropius, 1840.

4to (237 x 198 mm). 105 (of 106?) lithographed plates, delicately colored by hand; some text signatures browned, a very few plates just shaved. Contemporary German half brown calf over textured cloth, plain endpapers, marbled edges; extremities worn.

A very scarce suite of chronologically-arranged handcolored plates of Prussian military costume. The work was published in parts and evidently very few complete sets were collected. Rare Book Hub records only a few fragmentary parts, the most largest of which had only 29 plates. The coloring, while vibrant, is subtle and nuanced, especially in the very detailed backgrounds. The text is sometimes attributed to Wilhelm H. H. von Thümen. A facsimile was published in 1994.

REFERENCES:

Colas 2928; this work appeared in the first edition of Lipperheide as entry 2170, but in the second edition it is recorded as lost and does not appear