The first portrait is that of Colonel Schwartz whose signature I failed to obtain a couple of years ago. The fact that the Colonel of the regiment had it during this period does not mean other officers and other ranks had it as well in my opinion. I'll stand by Petard/Rousselot for at least the early Empire period (of which Schwartz was Colonel during this time). My figure is from the 1806 'Brigade Infernale' period.

Documentation (by Coucelle, Rigo', Knotel/Elting, Bucquoy etc.) of 5 rows:

One further note, the blue as depicted in those portraits is 'in dispute'.....but as I alluded to earlier, that is an ancillary topic.

Wonderful discussion.

Another odd thing about the hussars of 5 °, this photo taken at the Museum of Salon en Provence (France) shows many things not covered in reglament, for example.....the chapka (hat) or the white uniform in Nankeen...........so I think that it 'hard to have certainty in that period:

Simone, thank you very much for your uniforms images. They are very valuable.

http://www.mininet.tv/egminiatures.html

This 1812 5th hussar captain from l'Emperi (which I know by heart, being 45mn drive from my home) is quite exceptional because almost all elements are authentic.

Another famous example is the dolman of capitaine Epinat, from the Paris Army Museum:



The blue itself has been irreversibly altered by the years.

Hi Paul, thank you very much for sharing. This tone of blue seems a little bit darker than in the planches we know from Rigo or Rousselot. Maybe this is the correct tone, "blue ciel foncé".

http://www.mininet.tv/egminiatures.html

Paul that is a fantastic picture of the jacket, do you have any other gems like this one, perhaps Grenadiers A Cheval De le Garde Imperiale
I know there is lots of info on this regiment but pictures like that are a gold mine

Ron

Ron,

Have a look at the below:

http://www.photo.rmn.fr/c/htm/Search_New.aspx

You have good quality pictures from masterpieces of French museums. And lucky you, the site is available in English.

And you are probably aware of the A.S.K. Brown military collection on line with high resolution pictures:

http://dl.lib.brown.edu/askb/index.html

Good stuff Paul

Cheers Ron

I too love this discussion. Are any of you old enough to remember "Days of the Empire" by 'Talisman' in the old Bob Bard 'Milihistriot' publication from the late '50s-'60's? Talisman was my father which explains my francophile tendencies....especially concerning the Premier Empire. OK, it appears that I have been correctly and duly admonished as to the subject that 5eme hussards had five rows of buttons in the post-1809 period (three prior per Maitres Petard & Rousselot). Pas de problem mes amis.....

Since I hinted at the next issue concerning the shade of 'deep sky blue'.....please feel free to check out this blog I found a year or so ago (in French): www.lesapn.forumactif.fr/t5069-le-5-eme-hussard.

Even if you can't read French the photos explain the tale. I used to think the correct shade was essentially 'sky blue' as depicted in the majority of secondary sources (I have ALL of those shown above-no surprises). After having read the above discussion I tend to believe that the 'correct shade' was actually considerably darker than is generally thought.

One, however, cannot be too dogmatic on the subject of color shades as was pointed out to me by the late, great Colonel John Elting years ago. Because of the very transitory nature of vegetable-based dyes, one can never be quite certain. We in the 20th...21st cenury are used to stay-fast dyes which are chemically based. They didn't exist during le Petit Corporal's time. I'll never forget how the French dealt with Dragoon green as Col. Elting informed me........But that is another discussion. I personally wish that some 'expert' in France could research the entire uniform dying issue of the period.

The main point, it is a beautiful figure and I wish you all the best towards its completion. Alas, I haven't touched on mine for nearly a year. Oh, I do look forward to retirement!

I have to say again what a wonderful discussion this is, between people who understand the history of what they work on. Concerning accuracy, I always am reminded of a favorite saying of a figure and history friend who is no longer with us, basically "never say never" regarding pre-20th c. uniform colors. For the exact reasons stated above. Yeah, the item was blue, but was it exactly like we always see it done? Thanks gentlemen.--

I really like this discussion.
Gives more information then we ever had??? At least I had.
So, give more links for the napoleontics.

marc