KÉPI: A FRENCH MILITARY HEADGEAR, VOLUME 1, 1830–1939

This headgear alone symbolises the French soldier, but it is also, by extension, the official representation of the military officer and the civil servant. Its history is presented here in its entirety for the first time.

Exclusively male, the képi conveys a wealth of information about its wearer, starting with his unit and rank. Its model and shape also allow its period to be determined. And, from time to time, a képi conceals small treasures for the historian: a press cutting, a letter, a dated photograph or a name that makes it possible to trace its owner. It is then a journey of discovery into a life of daily toil, garrison routine, a past of adventure, sometimes of blood and mud, but also of heroism and glory.

This is the full history of the képi — the grand and the intimate — from its creation to the present day, that we invite you to discover. This first volume covers all military képis up to 1939. In the second volume, the reader will find képis worn by the army from 1939 to the present day; those of generals, the Foreign Legion, the medical corps, prefects, the police, firefighters, the gendarmerie, as well as those of the colonial administration, customs/finance, the prison service, the judiciary, the Eaux-et-Forêts, the grandes écoles, and finally a major chapter on the manufacture of képis.