INFANTRY OF THE FIRST EMPIRE (Grenadiers, carabiniers, Grenadier of the Consuls' Guard, Light Infantry...): SOLDIERS OF STRASBOURG, CARDBOARD FIGURINE GOAUCHED BY THE WURTZ FAMILY, SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY, AROUND 1815-1848. ITEM NUMBER: 31156-6

INFANTRY OF THE FIRST EMPIRE (Grenadiers, carabiniers, Grenadier of the Consuls' Guard, Light Infantry...): STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD CUTOUT HAND-PAINTED FIGURINE by the WURTZ family, second half of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-6

Four infantrymen, Height from 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. As far as I know, no biography or article has ever been published about this individual who is nevertheless known among collectors and frequently cited in the provenance of historical objects of great quality. Therefore, I will open my archives to shed more light on this knowledgeable figure:
"Mobilized during the First World War along with his brother in the infantry, the latter was killed at Verdun. They both shared a passion for military memorabilia; both drew and published their drawings in the magazine 'La Giberne' before 1914.
After the war, he established himself as an antiquarian. In 1926, he lived at 108 rue de Ménilmontant (Paris 20th), well beyond the preferred districts 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 Consular Light Cavalry, his first beautiful saber; he called it his 'lucky charm' and always kept it.
The profession of antiquarian allowed Saint-Aubin to see and possess these cherished objects for a time. A knowledgeable connoisseur, he never made mistakes, and his clients benefited from his expertise. A passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his life was remarkably varied. Quiet and modest, he had an art and a manner that left an indelible memory among the enthusiasts who knew him.
Like most military item dealers of that era, Marcel Saint-Aubin did not have a store. He received clients in his apartment, where few items were displayed, occupying only a temporary space. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the objects he wanted to sell from the neighboring room and present them, often saying nothing, with a slight smile, or if the item presented was truly exceptional, he would simply, without raising his voice, say 'It’s exceptional…'.
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 at 16 rue Henri Pape, in the 13th arrondissement, once again, far from the antiquarians' district.
His love for the objects he parted with extended even to the meticulous care he took in their packaging. A skilled craftsman, 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 those who knew him, leaving behind a unanimous memory of a man with great moral values."

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
The soldiers of Strasbourg are cardboard figurines, "flat" soldiers, cut out of stiff cardboard. In most cases, these soldiers are designed and then printed on sheets to more easily multiply their numbers.
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 regarding cardboard soldiers:
"[...] unlike paper soldiers aimed more at children, often colored in a clumsy manner, cardboard soldiers are made for adults and ensure a high level of uniform accuracy, which serves as the basis for our modern documentation...
Why do the little soldiers of Alsace stand out? Because they were mostly made by eyewitnesses of the time or their descendants, and are often contemporary to the period they represent.
During the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, the inhabitants of Strasbourg (a garrison town at the time) saw a large number of multicolored uniformed soldiers passing through their streets heading to fight in Germany.
This influx of troops, which lasted more than fifteen years, gave some the idea to 'capture' these beautiful soldiers in the moment.
Alsatian authors all agree to mention Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the precursor of the genre. Leading ahead of Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, Alsatian Zix provides a very realistic view of the soldiers of the time, as a combatant himself, he traversed battlefields more often armed with a pencil than a rifle. He became an Officer draftsman of the Army.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists across generations continued this need to draw and paint[...]".
During the First Empire, Strasbourg had approximately 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of between 6,000 and 10,000 soldiers. However, this city was also a mandatory passage for countless troops from the Revolution and the Grande Armée heading for campaigns across the Rhine.
Among all these artists for this period, the three most well-known are: Thiébaut Borerst (mis-spelled Boersch) (1782-1824), a miller by trade who began drawing around 1800, the nephew of the painter Benjamin Zix, his collection was auctioned in Angers on March 10, 1971, and his style is likely the most refined we know. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872) who painted his soldiers starting in 1817 (at the age of 15) for 55 years, his collection is housed at the Museum of Compiègne, his style is more naive. Wurtz, to which we dedicate a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose each figurine is annotated on the back with the soldier's name as observed, this collection is preserved at the Army Museum in Paris and specifically represents the soldiers of the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists also worked in a similar manner: Frédérik Schmidt (born 1796). Additionally, one can mention Édouard Kratz (1803-1885), Schmidt's son (born in 1824), Théodore Carl (born in 1837)...

WURTZ-PEEZ COLLECTION (Würtz in German spelling):
Wurtz began his documentation under the First Empire thanks to his friend J.P LÉvêque, a former surgeon of the Grande Armée who had gathered significant documentation on Napoleon's armies. He began making his figurines as early as 1825 with the help of his son and then Pees, his father-in-law. The production was continued by the son, who completed the collection with the "Napoleonic" theme under the Second Republic (1850), some of the figurines we present bear the date 1848 on the back of the cardboard. These figurines are of very high quality. Edward Ryan, the author, 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 complete representation of the troops of the First Empire”. Each regiment is exhaustively represented in all grades and types of uniforms, a rarity in the representations of Strasbourg soldiers.
Monsieur Wurtz's son, Frédéric Wurtz, likely completed the uniforms he did not observe himself from other documentary sources.
Upon the fall of the Second Empire, Frédéric Wurtz refused to remain in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and moved to Paris, specifically at Boulevard de Clichy, where he ran a pharmacy. Following his passing in 1898, the majority of his collection - nearly 16,000 figurines - was donated to the Army Museum on October 1, 1899, by his widow and his son, a chief medical officer; they were exhibited in 1938 and have remained there since.
Expert and specialist Christian Blondieau considers Wurtz's style comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.