NAPOLEONIC WARS: Cover Design

The stamp design for STUDIES IN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS

STUDIES IN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS by Sir Charles Oman may be one of our favorite book that we’ve produced yet, in part just because it is one that Franklin Library never did, and that neither Easton nor Folio would ever consider doing. As those who have followed along with the excellent serialization here know, Sir Charles Oman’s studies are an incredibly informative and entertaining collection of the little aspects of history that tend to slip through the cracks of the grand historical tomes. And while it took us a little time and effort to get the cover design where we wanted it, we mostly ended up where we’d hoped we would in the end.

It would have been nice to work in some referential element of the second major character of the period, namely, the Duke of Wellington, into the cover. But then, the period is known as the Napoleonic Wars, not the Wellingtonian Wars, and therefore it was the right choice to focus on Napoleon, his legions, and the formidable aquila of le Garde Imperiale.

Fans of the Duke of Wellington will have to content themselves with the rear endpapers, which pay homage to his famous Lines of Torres Vedras with which Portugal was so successfully defended.

We do very much hope to include a work on Wellington as part of the Castalia History line someday, although it would probably be too much to offer an independent series on the complete set of the first edition of his wartime Dispatches collected by Col. Gurwood and published in 1837. At 13 volumes, even the most ardent book collector and Wellington enthusiast would likely feel the need to draw the line.

But if there are enough of you to convince us otherwise, we would be very pleased to be proven wrong.

The books are scheduled to be bound on the 1st of October and will be shipped out to subscribers in the middle of the month. 22 copies still remain before the print run of 600 is entirely sold out, so if you’d like to add STUDIES IN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS to your library, or if you’re looking to give the wargamer or armchair historian in your family a truly unique gift, this would be the time to do so.