Album de la Caballeria Espanola desde sus primitivos tiempos hasta el dia

Madrid: Imprenta y Litgrafia Militar del Atlas S. Bernardino, 1861. First Edition. Half Calf. Pebbled Cloth. Very Good. D. J. Villegas.. Majesterial pictorial survey of Spanish cavalry costume from the era of the Roman Empire -- called here, the Caballeria Primitiva -- up to 1861, with the number of illustrations devoted to a century increasing with each successive century. Thus the Gothic era, or seventh century, is given a single plate, while the nineteenth century, then in its seventh decade, receives 14 plates. Oblong folio, 30.5 by 41 cm. Title leaf, half-title leaf, two page intro, followed by 69 hand-colored lithographic plates and 40 explanatory (truncated) pages, which are interspersed with plates. Plates have lightly colored, or more accurately, tinted backgrounds, which have a flatness to them. However, richer coloring was applied to costume, the men and their horses. Gum Arabic sometimes used to enrich the color as well. At the close of the book there is a one page indice. Starting of joints, which also rubbed considerably. Cloth on boards scratches and other signs of moderate wear. Leaves within age toned, with scattered soiling, generally light and not disconcerting. (Inventory #: 007995)