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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Napoleon's Cavalry

I stumbled upon this eBay offering a few weeks ago.  While I have many of the Osprey MAA Napoleonic paperback editions, I had not seen this one.

What is it?  Napoleon's Cavalry is a 248 page, hardback edition published by Presidio Press, 1979 by Bukhari and McBride.  It contains an amalgamation of five of the Osprey MAA's booklets.  Included are chapters on,
  • (1) Cuirassiers and Carabiniers
  • (2) Dragoons and Lancers
  • (3) Line Chasseurs
  • (4) Hussars
  • (5) Guard Cavalry

Napoleon's Cavalry contains the same artwork that illustrates the paperback MAA series only in a larger format.  Great to have this collection in one, hardback edition.
With the equivalent of five Ospreys in one hardback edition, I thought I was getting a great bargain via eBay.  As my father used to say when we were hunting in the mountains, "never take a drink from a creek and then walk upstream."  Well, after I made the purchase, a quick internet search surfaced a number of copies in very good condition. Some were about half the price I paid.  The upside with my eBay purchase was that I received plenty of photos so I knew exactly what I was getting.  That detail is something most of the smaller online booksellers do not provide.

Next time a book catches my eye, search first, bid second.

12 comments:

  1. Great score! I love it when books appear that you had no idea existed.

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  2. I have all 5 of the component books, but I'd say if you got this nicer volume at well less than the sum of its parts, you need not feel too much $ pain!

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    1. Quite right. The book was still MUCH less than buying the five individual booklets. Hardcopy too!

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  3. That's a great looking compendium. I have a few of the books, but an all-in-one is nice.

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    1. It is nice to have multiple MAAs in one volume. Hardback makes it even better.

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  4. I quite liked this book when I read it a couple of years ago, and it is quite the bargain compared to five £10 books (provided you want all five!)

    I wish that they did this for their other related books. I guess having them all with one author made it easier.

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    1. I like your overview of the book. It is a bargain when considering the cost of five individual titles.

      Osprey has combined a few other titles too. One I recall is the soldiers of the Revolution that contains (I believe) works from six Ospreys on the AWI. Three for the Brits and three for the Rebels.

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  5. Looks like a nice package. Wouldn't worry too much about not getting it cheaper.

    Christopher

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    1. It does make a nice book with all of the terrific color plates.
      I paid a fair price. Actually, I thought I was getting a great bargain!

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  6. Didn't even know that Osprey amalgamated any of their books like this?? Still a great book though!

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    1. Ray, I have seen a few other amalgamations but not this one.
      Nice surprise. Maybe there are others?

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