Collection: Militaria

Our militaria collection has been built around two registers that are rarely found together in the same bookstore: national military history in its depth (campaigns, navy, colonial missions, regimental archives) and a regional Southwest anchoring that we have been building since our establishment in Bayonne in 2011.

On the national register, we catalog archive pieces as diverse as the assignment document concerning 1st Class Aspirant Lauwick on board the 1st Rank Battleship "Le Trident," Collective (Brest, 1879), the four volumes of Histoire maritime de la France, Léon Guérin (Abel Ledoux, 1844), or Album historique de l’Armée et de la Marine, Rouffet (limited numbered edition, J. Leroy, 1905-1906).Documents scientifiques de la mission Tilho, Jean Tilhois one of the rarest pieces: complete original edition in three volumes, Ministry of Colonies 1910-1911-1914, on a politico-scientific expedition that helped establish the borders between French and British possessions in Central Africa.

The regional anchoring is what makes our selection irreducible to a generic militaria section. Quelques têtes du Pont-Long, J. H. Chapelle(Pau, 1918) is a rare testimony of the First World War: about fifty portraits of soldiers who worked at the Pont-Long school, dated 1918 in Pau and signed J. H. Chapelle. Our copy of Vérité par un combattant des deux guerres, Jean de Croisoeil(Biarritz Éditions Côte Basque, 1940) bears an autograph dedication from the author to Jean Borotra, a national and Basque figure, making it a piece of certified provenance.La Guyenne militaire, Léo Drouyn(reprint of the 1865 edition, Jeanne Laffitte Reprints, 2000) completes this regional thread on the Gascon side.

For each entry, we apply the criteria of SLAM and LILA: original edition distinguished from reprint, complete collation, stated print run and plates, and storage in reserve at 18-20 °C and 50-60% humidity. For an archive piece such as the 1809 patent of nobility granted by Francis I of Austria, the expertise focuses as much on the authenticity of the document as on its condition. For 19th-century military history and Napoleonic campaign narratives, see also 19th century history book.

The most sought-after pieces combine several criteria: complete original edition (like our three volumes of the Tilho mission), documented provenance copy (autograph dedication, bookplate of a named personality), plates or illustrations in good condition, and attested rarity (limited numbered edition like Rouffet's Album). A single criterion is rarely enough; their combination makes the price.

The estimate takes into account the condition of the plates (foxing, missing parts, wormholes), the completeness of the volume (missing issues, torn leaves), the identity of the publisher, and the date. At KOEGUI, we offer a free estimate: contact us with the details from the title page and a description of the condition.

Yes. We buy private collections, officers' libraries, regimental archives, and isolated pieces (patents, orders, campaign albums). The estimate is free and without obligation. Members of SLAM and LILA, we operate in Bayonne and the Southwest, and we handle correspondence shipments.

The original edition is verified by the date of completion of printing, the mention of the delivery or volume, and the absence of the mention "new edition." A limited edition generally bears a handwritten or printed number. For ambiguous pieces, collation (pagination, presence of all plates) is the first check we systematically perform.