French, Franco-Prussian War, Garde Nationale Mobile Officers Tunic
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $475.00

Original era manufacture. This very rare tunic shows considerable wear and tear, yet is one of the few examples we have ever seen for sale in any condition. It is identical in pattern to the one in our own collection, and comes with an original era CDV image of a French officer wearing the same tunic. These uniforms were worn by the soldiers of the French army created after the twin disasters of the siege of Metz, and battle of Sedan, where the regular French army was nearly completely destroyed, accompanied by the surrender of Napoleon III. The French nation fought on through extreme difficulties, it's capital, Paris, endured a siege of many months with the populace reduced to eating rats and whatever else could be found. Numerous pitched battles were fought through the winter of 1870-1871, during severe weather and shortages of every kind for the French soldier. The double breasted tunic is of a good quality dark blue wool, with red wool collar and cuffs, and red piped blue wool epaulettes. On each sleeve are elaborate gallons in gold soutache, done in a series of two, indicating the rank of 1st Lieutenant. The collar is lined in black velvet, with a steel securing hook and loop at the throat. Matching Paris marked gilded brass buttons throughout, an adjustable half belt in the back of the tunic, and a leather lined support strap on the left side. The lining has been removed, perhaps done by a costume house so the tunic would be able to fit a larger size individual. There are numerous moth holes throughout the tunic, with some of the larger ones repaired by being backed with similar colored wool material. The pocket linings remain and are made of a gray cotton muslin. In spite of the moth damage, the tunic presents very well in our opinion.We have placed our original kepi on our mannequins head to give you an idea of what the ensemble would look like when complete. It is not included with the tunic, the CDV we added is included.Original uniforms from the Franco-Prussian war are very difficult to find, I look for them regularly, and when found are quite expensive. We're really happy to offer this example on our site.