The Larcade Books Vol 1 & 2, 1983

b.loree

b.loree

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The 2 vol set written by Jean Louis Larcade in French. Volume One Infantry, Volume 2 Mounted Troops. These were published in 1983 and were the first serious and dependable (IMO) books available for 2 decades. Mine were purchased in 1991, when I started to collect and I had the Head of the French Dept at my school actually phone a book dealer in Paris and order them over the phone using his credit card. I can lissez en Francais but my conversation is sadly lacking! My next move when I received, them was to have the school Librarian cover them in plastic to protect the jackets. Jean Louis is no longer with us but his work is still quoted as a reference and lives on.





Mine obviously have been well used.....my apologies for the drool on vol 2! The only complaint I have on this set is that there was no index so you have to thumb through the pages to find what you want. Sorry no ISBN that I can find. 1983 price...240FF
I will be posting pics of other earlier volumes that we used back in the 90's soon. I would encourage other members to include a picture and ISBN # where possible.
 
these still might be the best books. The problem is they are in French. My French is horrible. The good news is you can always give a page number and Paragraph number and some kind of speaking forum member will help you out. I don't know how many times I have asked questions to Francis and Bruno about the French language and received quite accurate and courteous responses despite my juvenile questions.

My other complaint about these is that there is absolutely no useful footnotes. He seems to be very correct but not necessarily complete. Without footnotes is impossible to trace down where he got it from. This very general bibliography just does not cut the mustard.
 
Good comment Joe, it still is very useful and one of the best for me as I have very little German in my head. However, there are no foot/end notes and the bibliography is very general as you state. It is interesting to note though, that J L even in 1983 was warning his fellow collectors of what to look for in "FAKES". There are 1 1/2 pages devoted to "Faux". He also had 2 1/2 pages on Regimental Markings and what they mean with pictures. To be honest, this inspired me years later to talk to you about getting our own list started.
 
Yes I agree. He was inevitably right but extremely frustrating. It was his work on markings that drove me to do more. He was just incomplete – not that I am any better.
 
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