Militaria hrhunderts Zeitgenössische niederländische Uniformzeichnungen von 1752 bis 1800

About the Book

Color picture book, a total of 320 pages, approximately 200 color reproductions of original contemporary watercolors and drawings, linen-bound with a dust jacket, large format: height 30.5 x width 26 cm

Compiled by

Drs. Joep van Hoof

Content

The armies of the 18th century were characterized by a very diverse and colorful uniformity. This was regulated by central guidelines but implemented at the level of individual regiments, each of which had its own special color combinations, insignia, and trimmings. By the middle of the century, the French army was the general model; however, following the military successes of Frederick the Great between 1740 and 1763, the Prussian army increasingly became the ideal for European militaries. This also affected the design of uniforms, where the Prussian style prevailed almost everywhere and was sometimes outright copied. This was particularly true for the army of the Republic of the United Netherlands, as demonstrated by the contemporary image series in this book.

In 1903, the War Historical Archive in the Netherlands received a large amount of source material from an estate. Among this was a bound collection of illustrations of Dutch uniform coats from the second half of the 18th century, as well as a series of uniform drawings by Duncan Macalester Loup (1751–1812). Both are currently in the possession of the Dutch Institute for Military History (NIMH). Due to the rich colors and the fidelity of the images, they are among the treasures of the institute's collection.

With the publication of this book, the NIMH and the Dutch Army Museum are making this special military heritage accessible to a wide audience.