Pierre Vernet: Galerie Militaire, Or A Complete Collection Of Russian Imperial Guard Uniforms,

VERNET (Pierre). Galerie Militaire, ou collection complète des uniformes de la garde impériale russe (Voennaia Galereia, ili polnaia kollektsiia uniform Rossiiskoi Imperskoi Gvardii). Saint Petersburg, Ulric Steinbach, (1840–1842). Large folio (56 x 48 cm), contemporary green half-shagreen with paper-covered corners (surface rubbing and customary wear), spine with raised bands decorated with gilt tools, top edge ornamented with leather inlays in the colours of the Order of Saint George.

Comprising 63 hand-coloured lithographs with printed captions, together with two lithographed dedications cut out and laid down, manuscript captions, table of contents and general title. Binding with surface rubbing and customary wear; occasional spotting and slight oxidation to some pigments.

Masterpiece of 19th-century Russian military illustration, produced during the reign of Nicholas I by the French artist Pierre Vernet and published in biweekly instalments over two years. This album is one of the rarest and most comprehensive collections devoted to the regiments of the Imperial Russian Guard (notably the Preobrazhensky, Semyonovsky, and Izmaylovsky regiments, as well as various Cossack regiments). This exceptional copy is distinguished by the presence of 63 hand-enhanced plates (five more than the examples recorded in bibliographical literature).

Provenance: engraved bookplate of A. Balsan.