A military-drill aid, dissected into twelve panels, providing a step-by-step pictorial guide to basic infantry exercises ‘as practised by His Majesty’s Army’. The whole consists of two separate evolutions: ‘Manual Exercise’ in eight steps, which involves the fixing and use of bayonets but with no firing or reloading; and ‘Platoon Exercise’ in ten steps, including the firing of muskets and subsequent reloading. Each dissected panel features two steps, with the three remaining panels containing the ‘Position of an Officer’ and ‘3 Ranks. Make Ready’, the decorated title vignette, and ”3 Ranks. Present – Fire’ alongside a detailed schematic of a musket, in both assembled and disassembled forms. Engraved after the work of English artist and printmaker Robert Dighton, this guide was issued at the beginning of the most acute stage of the first Napoleonic invasion scare and sold folded in a slipcase.
- Title: The new manual and platoon exercises, as practised by His Majesty’s Army [graphic] / Dighton del.
- Publication: London : Printed for Bowles and Carver, No. 69 St. Paul’s Church Yard, published 2 Jan 1795.
795.01.02.01+
Acquired July 2023