DUTCH FOOT GRENADIERS OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD FIRST EMPIRE: SOLDIERS FROM STRASBOURG CARDBOARD FIGURINE GOUACHED BY THE WURTZ FAMILY, SECOND THIRD OF THE 19TH CENTURY, AROUND 1815-1848.31156-4

INFANTRY GRENADIERS OF THE DUTCH IMPERIAL GUARD FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD FIGURINE gouached by the WURTZ family, second half of the 19th century, circa 1815-1848. 31156-4

Two pedestrians, H from the bottom of the base to eye level 8.5 cm.
Mounted on a wooden base.

France.
First half of the 19th century.
Good condition.

PROVENANCE:
Former Wurtz-Pees collection, then Saint-Aubin, and private collection. Monsieur Marcel Saint-Aubin, a collector turned antiquarian between the two World Wars. To my knowledge, no biography or article has ever been published about this individual, who is nonetheless well-known among collectors and frequently cited in the provenances of historical objects of high quality. I will therefore open my archives to better acquaint you with this great connoisseur:
"Mobilized during the First World War along with his brother in the infantry, the latter was killed at Verdun. Both shared the same tastes for military memorabilia; each of them drew and published their drawings in the magazine 'La Giberne' before 1914.
After the war, he set up as an antiquarian. In 1926, he lived at 108 rue de Ménilmontant (Paris 20th), far from the preferred neighborhoods of antiquarians. His choice focused on the specialty that had attracted him for a long time: military curiosities. The spark that led him to this specialty came from his first find: an officer's saber from the Consulate, his first beautiful saber; he called it his 'good luck charm' and always kept it.
The profession of antiquarian allowed Saint-Aubin to see and possess these highly appreciated objects for some time. A refined connoisseur, he never made mistakes and his clients benefitted from his expertise. A passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his life was remarkably varied. Silent and modest, he had a way and manner that left an indelible memory with the enthusiasts who knew him.
Like most dealers of military items from that era, Marcel Saint-Aubin did not have a store. He received visitors in his apartment, where few objects could be found and they only occupied a temporary place. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the items he wanted to sell from the neighboring room and present them without saying much, with a slight smile, or if the presented item was truly exceptional, he would simply say, without raising his voice, 'This is top-notch...'.
In June 1940, during the occupation, he left for Guingamp. He returned to Paris and resettled at the end of 1951 in the house he had acquired, 16 rue Henri Pape, in the 13th arrondissement, once again, far from the antique dealers' neighborhood.
His love for the objects he parted with was evident even in the care he took in packaging them. Very handy with his hands, he perfectly protected even the most modest item.
Marcel Saint-Aubin passed away at the age of 83, taking with him the esteem of all who knew him, leaving behind a lasting memory of a man of great moral values."

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
The soldiers of Strasbourg are cardboard figurines, "flat" soldiers, cut from rigid cardboard. In most cases, these soldiers are drawn and then printed in sheets to easily multiply their number.
Christian Blondieau in his book "Petits soldats de plomb, d'étain, de papier, de carton ... 1765-1965 - Le guide du collectionneur" Editions Le Képi Rouge Paris 1996, specifies about cardboard soldiers:
"[...] Unlike paper soldiers intended more for children, often colored in a clumsy manner, the cardboard soldier is made for adults and guarantees a great level of uniformological precision, which serves as the basis for our modern documentation...
Why are the little soldiers from Alsace referenced? Because they were often created by eyewitnesses of the time or their descendants and are often contemporary to the era they represent.
During the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, the residents of Strasbourg (a garrison town at the time) saw a great number of soldiers in colorful uniforms passing through their streets on their way to fight in Germany. This influx of troops, which lasted for more than fifteen years, inspired some to 'capture' these handsome military men in action.
Alsatian authors commonly cite Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the pioneer of the genre. Preceding Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, Alsatian Zix provides a very realistic view of the soldiers of the time, having been a combatant himself, he roamed the battlefields more often armed with a pencil than a rifle. He became an Army Officer illustrator.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists continued this need to draw and paint from generation to generation.
During the First Empire, Strasbourg had around 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of 6,000 to 10,000 soldiers. The city was also a stopping point for numerous troops from the Revolution and the Grande Armée heading for campaigns across the Rhine. Among all these artists from that period, the three most famous are: Thiébaut Borerst (erroneously spelled Boersch) (1782-1824) a baker who started drawing around 1800, nephew of the painter Benjamin Zix, his collection was auctioned in Angers on March 10, 1971, and his style is probably the most refined that we know of. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872) who began painting soldiers in 1817 (at 15 years old) and continued for 55 years, his collection is kept at the Museum of Compiègne, and his style is more naive. Wurtz, to whom we devote a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose each figurine is annotated on the back with the soldier's name and "sketched", this collection is preserved at the Museum of the Army in Paris, and notably represents the soldiers of the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists worked in the same way: Frédérik Schmidt (born in 1796). We can also mention Édouard Kratz (1803-1885), Schmidt's son (born in 1824), Théodore Carl (born in 1837)...

WURTZ-PEEZ COLLECTION (Würtz German spelling):
Wurtz started his documentation under the First Empire thanks to his friend J.P. LÉvêque, a former surgeon of the Grande Armée who had assembled significant documentation on Napoleon's armies. He began making his figurines in 1825 with the help of his son and then Pees, his stepfather. The son continued the production, concluding his "Napoleonic" collection under the Second Republic (1850); some of the figurines we are presenting are dated 1848 on the back of the cardboard. These figurines are of very high quality. Edward Ryan, in his book "Paper Soldiers the illustrated history of printed paper armies of the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries" (Golden Age Editions, London 1995), writes, "the most precise and comprehensive representation of Napoleonic troops". Each regiment is represented in all ranks and types of uniforms exhaustively, which is rare in the representations of Strasbourg soldiers.
Frederic Wurtz, the son of Mr. Wurtz, probably filled in the uniforms he did not personally observe using other documentary sources.
After the fall of the Second Empire, Frederic Wurtz refused to remain in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and settled in Paris on Boulevard de Clichy, where he ran a pharmacy. Upon his death in 1898, most of his collection - nearly 16,000 figurines - was donated to the Musée de l’Armée on October 1, 1899, by his widow and his son, a senior military doctor; they were exhibited in 1938 and have remained there since. Expert Christian Blondieau compares Wurtz's style to that of Nicollet and Kratz.