1895 Military Equipment and Uniform Catalog, Documenting U.S. Army Uniform Styles of the 19th Century

Military Equipment and Uniform

First Edition

[Military][Americana] Military Equipments and Uniforms catalogue from 1895, presents an illustrated commercial record of American military dress and ceremonial regalia during the late nineteenth century when militia culture, fraternal organizations, and civic pageantry formed a visible part of urban public life. Issued in San Francisco by one of the leading West Coast manufacturers of military and society goods, the catalogue documents the equipment and decorative elements associated with officers’ uniforms, militia dress, and ceremonial attire shortly after the United States Army adopted new uniform regulations in April 1895. The publication reflects the broader culture of uniformed display that characterized the Gilded Age, when volunteer militia units, police departments, veterans’ groups, and fraternal societies relied on specialized manufacturers to produce the elaborate insignia and regalia that signaled rank, affiliation, and civic authority.

Pasquale, B. Military Equipments and Uniforms. Catalogue 50. San Francisco: B. Pasquale & Sons, 1895. First edition. Green cloth spine over elaborately lithographed pictorial wrappers with engraved illustrations throughout. The catalogue contains extensive engraved illustrations depicting helmets for line officers and enlisted personnel, swords and scabbards, epaulettes, aiguillettes, silk sashes, and other accoutrements associated with American military and ceremonial dress. Additional sections display decorative elements including “gold and silver trimmings,” guidons, chevrons, and buttons used across military and paramilitary uniforms. The lithographed wrappers prominently advertise the firm’s specialization in “Military, Naval, Theatrical and Society Goods,” indicating the company’s role in supplying uniforms not only to military officers but also to civic groups, police departments, theatrical productions, and fraternal lodges. Founded in 1856, B. Pasquale & Sons became a prominent supplier of uniforms and regalia throughout California and the Pacific Coast during a period when local militia units and ceremonial organizations were prominent features of public life.

Trade catalogues such as this served both as sales tools and as visual references for uniform design during a time when military dress incorporated highly decorative elements influenced by European traditions of martial display. On the American West Coast these publications also documented the growth of specialized manufacturing industries that supplied military and ceremonial goods to expanding urban institutions. Light edge wear and corner chipping to wrappers with small loss to the upper front cover and minor marginal soiling; interior pages show scattered foxing and mild toning but remain bright and structurally sound. Overall very good condition. Because such catalogues were privately printed and produced for commercial distribution, relatively few survive, particularly those issued in San Francisco before the destruction of large portions of the city’s commercial district in the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Item #22772

Price: $1,800.00