CARABINIERS FIRST EMPIRE : SOLDIERS FROM STRASBOURG CARDBOARD FIGURINE painted in gouache by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-10

CARABINIERS OF THE FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD FIGURINE painted by the WURTZ family, second half of the 19th century, circa 1815-1848. 31156-10

Two riders, Hö from the bottom of the base to eye level 10.5 cm.
Glued on a wooden base.

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

PROVENANCE:
Former Wurtz-Pees collection, then Saint-Aubin, and private collection.
Mr. 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 figure who is nevertheless well-known to collectors and frequently mentioned in the provenance of historical objects of high quality. That’s why I will open my archives to shed more light on 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 taste for military memorabilia; they 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), far from the antique dealers' neighborhoods. His choice focused on the specialty that had attracted him for a long time: military curiosities. His interest in this specialty sparked from his first find: an officer's saber from the Consulate era, his first beautiful sword; he called it his 'good luck charm' and always kept it.
The profession of an antiquarian allowed Saint-Aubin to view and possess these coveted objects for a while. A true connoisseur, he never made mistakes, and his clients benefited from his knowledge. A passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his life was remarkably diverse. Silent and modest, he had an art and a way about him that left an indelible memory among the collectors who knew him.
Like most military object dealers of that time, Marcel Saint-Aubin did not have a store. He received clients in his apartment, where few objects were found and they only took up temporary space. Usually, like Paul Jean, he would go fetch the items he wanted to sell in the neighboring room and present them, mostly without saying anything, with a slight smile, or if the item presented was truly exceptional, he would simply say without raising his voice 'It’s 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 at 16 rue Henri Pape, in the 13th arrondissement, once again, far from the antique dealer neighborhoods.
His love for the objects he parted with was reflected in the care he took in their packaging. He was very skilled with his hands, perfectly protecting even the most modest piece.
Marcel Saint-Aubin passed away at the age of 83, taking with him the respect of all those who knew him, leaving behind the memory of a man with great moral values."

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
The Strasbourg soldiers are cardboard figurines, "flat" soldiers, cut from rigid cardboard. In most cases, these soldiers are drawn and then printed on sheets to multiply their numbers more easily.
Christian Blondieau in his work "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 high level of uniform accuracy, which serves as a basis for our modern documentation...
Why do the little soldiers from Alsace stand out? Because they were mostly created by eyewitnesses of the time or their descendants, and are often contemporary to the era they portray.
During the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, the residents of Strasbourg (a garrison town at the time) witnessed a large number of soldiers with colorful uniforms marching through their city heading to battle in Germany.
This influx of troops, which lasted over fifteen years, gave some the idea to sketch these beautiful soldiers in action.
Alsatian authors agree in citing Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the genre's precursor. Preceding Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, the Alsatian Zix provides a very realistic view of the soldiers of the time as he, himself a fighter, roamed battlefields more often armed with a pencil than a rifle. He became an Officer Illustrator in the Army.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists continued from generation to generation this need to draw and paint[...] ".
During the First Empire, Strasbourg had about 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of between 6,000 and 10,000 soldiers. This city was also the obligatory passage for countless troops of the Revolution and the Grand Army heading for campaigns across the Rhine.
Among all these artists, the three most well-known for this period are: Thiébaut Borerst (often misspelled Boersch) (1782-1824), a miller who began drawing around 1800, nephew of the painter Benjamin Zix, and his collection was auctioned in Angers on March 10, 1971; his style is probably the most refined. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872), who painted his soldiers from 1817 (he was 15 years old) over 55 years, his collection is preserved at the Museum of Compiègne, and his style is more naïve. Wurtz, to whom we dedicate a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose every figurine is annotated on the back with the name of the soldier as "sketched," this collection is preserved at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris and notably represents soldiers from the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists have also worked similarly: Frédérik Schmidt (born 1796). Additionally, Édouard Kratz (1803-1885), Schmidt’s son (born 1824), Théodore Carl (born 1837) can be mentioned.

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