Customer Reviews

Vanished Armies: A Record of Military Uniform Observed And Drawn in Various European Countries During the Years 1907 to 1914 (Shire General)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many thanks to Crowood Press for publishing this book. I was somewhat familiar with Haswell-Miller's work, in a few books on the British Army, and some post card reproductions, but I was unaware of the scope of his work regarding other European armies, pre-1914.
Thw author's style is appealing to me, and the illustrations were all done from life, during his travels over the years. The British Army, as to be expected, and the German Army are covered in depth, with the French Army a close third, as well as the Austro-Hungarian forces. There are also decent sections on the Belgian, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish Armies. My only real diaappointment was the small section on the Russian Imperial Army, only two plates.
For those with a serious interest in the full dress of European armies at it's peak, or for any military uniform enthusiast, I recommend this book highly.
My only complaint is that two plates in the British section were repeated, thus one plate is missing. A publisher's error that is inexcusable.

Solid eyewitness full-color watercolors of European soldiers as seen in public in pre-World War One Europe (some a little later). Many of the uniforms are thus some variation of social or walking-out dress. No close ups of badges or insignia. Also by the nature of things, bandsmen are well represented, as are some cloaks, capes, and overcoats as worn in colder weather. Great Britain and Germany have the most numerous examples, but smaller countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands can be seen as well. The range of subjects makes no attempt at being comprehensive, but rather is just what chance presented to the traveling artist during this time. Since color photography was rare back then, this is the next best thing. Recommended.

The value of Haswell Miller's work is immense because these images were made on the spot. First-person artisty depicting the armies in the few years prior to the Great War is a treasure, indeed. The book replicates Haswell-Miller's sketches as they are. A great look at the ceremonial uniforms, dress uniforms and stepping-out attire of the age when uniforms were ornate and colorful. Get this one while the getting is good, because it will become collectible.

One notable error - plate 14 had been duplicated as plate 15. The paste-up artist goofed. Even at that, it still rates 5 stars.

A fine book. I recomend it to enyone who is intersted in the full dress uniforms of the beginnig of XX century, but I must notice that two plates of the British Army are repeated, so one is missing.

VANISHED ARMIES: A RECORD OF MILITARY UNIFORM OBSERVED AND DRAWN IN VARIOUS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES DURING THE YEARS 1907 TO 1914 offers a collection painted in the early 1900s by author A.E. Haswell Miller, a Scottish artist and army officer fascinated by military dress. It appears in print for the first time and provides a collection of watercolors and notes key to any military history collection.

Enjoyed book very much, but was disappointed it did not cover smaller nation states, it was a repeat of standard information available from many sources.
By the title I had hoped it would cover nation states that no longer exsist.
atleast I got it on sale