Rene North paint Your Own Cards Set # 103 The Black Watch

Rene North "Paint Your Own Cards" set # 59 3rd (Dutch) Grenadiers

Rene North "Paint-Your-Own Cards" set #107 French 8th Light Infantry

Thanks to Vintage Wargaming reader Mick, I have acquired a collection of around 80 sets of Rene North Paint Your Own cards, still in their original (and unopened) envelopes.

I still have to work out what to do with these but I thought I'd start with the couple of duplicate sets. I think I will have to open them all as this will be a way of compiling a reasonably comprehensive list. I may post a fair quantity of them here, or where relevant on the Hinton Hunter as period uniform information.

To start with here are the contents of set #107 French 8th Light Infantry, as an example of what you got - 6 uniform cards, text uniform instructions, and the small brown envelope they came in.

René North's Military Uniform Charts #1 French Dragoons 1804-15

Further to previous posts on René North, I am posting part of the series of his Military Uniform Charts. These were additional to his Paint Your Own uniform cards and presented useful information in a one page format.

René North's Military Uniform Charts #2 British Light Dragoons and Hussars 1812-15

René North's Military Uniform Charts #3 French Hussars 1804-12

René North's Military Uniform Charts #4 British Foot Guards and Line Regiments

René North's Military Uniform Charts #5 Austrian Line Regiments 1800-8

René North's Military Uniform Charts #6 British Line Regiments part 2

René North's Military Uniform Charts #7 French Chasseurs a Cheval

René North's Uniform Charts - 2

A lsiting of the René North unifom charts from an old Hinton Hunt catalogue.

Next post will have some more of the uniform information available at the time through Hinton Hunt.

René North's Uniform Charts

Further to the post on René North's Paint Your Own Uniform Cards, here are a couple of his uniform charts - for Austrian Infantry Regiments 1800-1808 and French Dragoons

René North's "Paint Your Own" Uniform Cards

If like me you were always intrigued by René North's Paint Your Own uniform cards but never saw any, this might help - again, from Jack Scruby's 1962 catalogue.

René North,

For a long time the only uniform book I owned was Rene North's Military Uniforms 1686-1918, published by Hamlyn all-colour paperbacks. The scan is of the cover of my original copy, and it is only now looking at it for the post that I have realised the plates aren't by North himself, but by John Berry.

Rene North was also the author of the Almarks on Soldiers of the Peninsular War and on Waterloo. He published a series of colour-in-yourself uniform cards.

The biographical note from Military Uniforms reads:

Rene North is a keen student of costume and military affairs, and has lectured, written articles, and translated books about the uniforms of war. He runs a small private business producing military postcards, and travels extensively to do research from first-hand sources in museums, libraries, art galleries and private collections. He is often in demand as a consultant to theatrical and advertising agencies on matters of military dress. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Artillery and the Intelligence Corps.

Incidentally, if anyone can let me know how to put an e acute in text in blogger, I will revisit this post...