Album Militar

Madrid: Estamperias de los Suizos, 1846. The Military Costume of the Spanish Army
Thirty-two Superb Hand Colored Lithograph Plates by Victor Adam after José Villegas

ADAM, Victor, illustrator. VILLEGAS, José. Album Militar. Coleccion de uniformes del ejercito Español pintadas por D.J. Villegas y lithografiados por V. Adam. Madrid: Estamperias de los Suizos, 1846.

First edition. Folio (12 1/16 x 9 1/4 inches; 307 x 235 mm.). Pictorial lithograph title page and thirty-two superb hand colored lithograph plates by Victor Adam after José Villegas, all on stubs. Printed by Godard and Lemercier. Six of the plates are very slightly toned but not affecting images. The thirty-two plates are bound out of order.

Early twentieth century three-quarter red morocco over marbled boards, spine with five raised bands ruled in blind and lettered in gilt in compartments, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt.

This extremely rare Spanish work on the military costume of the Spanish Army was issued without text, save for a title page. The composition of the subjects is superb, but the chief glory of this work is the exceptional hand-coloring.

OCLC locates just one complete copy in libraries and institutions worldwide: Brown University (RI, US).
The Bibliotheque Nationale de France and the Kunstbilio Staatliche Museen zu Berlin have just 25 of the 32 plates, apparently uncolored.

The only copy that we can locate at auction over the past fifty years was at Sotheby's Hodgsons in 1979 (24 of 25 hand-colored plates only).

Colas 3016 (25 plates only); Lipperheide 2361 (25 plates only); Not in Bobins.

(According to Colas 3017 and Hiler p. 881 there was an undated edition with 34 hand colored plates).

Colas 3016 (25 plates only); Lipperheide 2361 (25 plates only); Not in Bobins.