Old Prussian Uniforms in 1806
More illustrations to follow.
Below is a series of original watercolors depicting Prussian uniforms in the year 1806. They comprise just over 60 watercolors that were created in the 19th century; whether before or after 1850 is not certain, but probably in the first half of that century.
The series offered on an auction platform comprised nearly 100 watercolors, with the cavalry regiments fully represented. However, since the plates were auctioned individually, the author was only able to secure the images shown here.
The picture series was probably originally conceived as a complete portrayal of the uniforms of the Prussian army at that time, each showing an officer, a non-commissioned officer and an enlisted man — sometimes also a trumpeter. Occasionally the soldier's rear view is also shown. Various modes of dress are presented.
However, the offered illustrations already lacked higher ranks (general officers), general adjutants, the fusilier battalions, etc.
Apparently the depictions follow the work "Kostüme der ganzen preußischen Armee", published in 1806 by J. B. Schiavonetti in Berlin, consisting of four booklets with six plates each, drawn by W. Henschel and engraved by F. A. Henschel (see below).
Whether the series shown here is unique is also not certain, since the author also owns unfinished sketches and proof prints of figures in black and white that may have been intended for later coloring. Therefore multiple copies are likely.
J. B. Schiavonetti, (artist: W. Henschel, engraver: F. A. Henschel): "Kostüme der ganzen preußischen Armee"; Berlin 1806 (reproductions in the author's possession).
Recommended Articles
Organisation
E. Schnackenburg, Grenadiers on Horseback. A military-historical study. In: Yearbook for Army and Navy, Vol. 107, pp. 133 ff.
The Dragoon Regiment D III bore since 22.08.1714 the honorable designation "Grenadiers on Horseback." To outwardly document this distinction, the formation was equipped with special headgear. In addition to the usual hats for light and medium service, the regiment thereafter wore a kind of fusilier cap (also shown in the Dessau specification of 1729); later it appears to have worn the set of grenadier caps relinquished by No. 6 (shown in the Dessau specification of 1737). However, due to a serious failure of a squadron of the regiment on 27.02.1741 at Baumgarten, it lost this special headgear and had to surrender it to Infantry Regiment No. 42.
Heeressoziologie
The Old Prussian Non-Commissioned Officer Corps - Insider Views of an NCO Group
Between the privates and the officers stood the non-commissioned officers as an intermediate link in the vertical structure. If one considers the Old Prussian army as a social formation, from the beginning of the 18th century a separation between the (senior) officer corps and the NCO corps can be observed, which was also reflected clearly in the fact that the Articles of War of 12 July 1713 applied only to NCOs and privates, i.e. no longer to the officers. With the reservation of officer positions for the native nobility as a means of its statization, the first third of the 18th century saw a social decline of the NCOs, who now together with the privates comprised the ranks. Nevertheless, in this precise system of superiority and subordination they, as holders of the lowest ranks and functionaries, had a weighty significance; the framework and conditions of existence of this NCO group therefore deserve to be the subject of consideration.
Kriegsgeschichte