Chasseurs on horseback of the Imperial Guard, First Empire in full dress uniform: soldiers of Strasbourg cardboard figure gouache painted by the Wurtz family, second half of the 19th century, circa 1815-1848. Item number 31156-15.

CAVALRY HUNTERS OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD FIRST EMPIRE IN FULL DRESS: SOLDIERS OF STRASBOURG CARDBOARD FIGURINE gouache by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-15

Five riders, H from the base of the base to eye level 10.5 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.
Mr. Marcel Saint-Aubin was a collector turned antiquarian in the interwar period. To my knowledge, no biography or article has ever been published about this personality, who is nevertheless known to collectors and frequently cited in the provenance of historically significant objects. That's why I will open my archives to shed more light on this great connoisseur:
"Mobilized during the First World War, as well as his brother in the infantry, the latter was killed at Verdun. Both shared the same passion for military memorabilia; both drew and published their drawings in the magazine 'La Giberne' before 1914.
After the war, he settled as an antiquarian. In 1926, he lived at 108 rue de Ménilmontant (Paris 20ᵉ), far from the preferred neighborhoods of antique dealers. 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: a cavalry officer's saber from the Consulate era, his first beautiful sword; he called it his 'lucky charm' and always kept it.
The profession of antiquarian allowed Saint-Aubin to see and possess these objects he so appreciated for a while. A knowledgeable expert, he never made a mistake, and his clients benefited from his expertise. A passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his life was remarkably diverse. Silent and modest, he had an art and a manner that left an indelible impression on the amateurs 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 occupied a temporary place. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the items he wanted to sell from the adjacent room and would often present them 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 dealers' district.
His love for the objects he parted with was evident even in the care he put into their packaging. Very skilled with his hands, he perfectly protected even the most modest piece.
Marcel Saint-Aubin passed away at the age of 83, taking with him the esteem of all those who knew him, leaving behind the memory of a man with strong 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 more 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 that for cardboard soldiers:
"[...] unlike paper soldiers intended more for children, often colored in a clumsy manner, the cardboard soldier is made for adults and provides a guarantee of great uniform precision, which serves as a basis for our modern documentation...
Why do the small soldiers from Alsace stand out? Because they were, for the most part, 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 inhabitants of Strasbourg (then a garrison town) saw a large number of soldiers with colorful uniforms passing through their streets, heading off to fight in Germany.
This influx of troops, which lasted for over fifteen years, inspired some to capture on the spot these handsome soldiers.
Alsace authors unanimously mention Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the pioneer of the genre. Leading Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, the Alsatian Zix offers a very realistic view of the soldiers of the time, as he fought himself, more often roaming battlefields armed with a pencil than a rifle. He became a drawing officer 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. However, this city was also the obligatory passage for countless troops from the Revolution and the Grande Armée heading to campaigns across the Rhine.
Of all these artists, the three most well-known for this period are: Thiébaut Borerst (incorrectly spelled Boersch) (1782-1824) a miller who began 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 we know of. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872), who started painting his soldiers in 1817 (at the age of 15) and continued for 55 years, his collection is kept at the Musée de Compiègne, and his style is more naive. Finally, Wurtz, to whom we dedicate a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose each figurine is annotated on the back with the soldier's name as "captured," this collection is kept at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris and mainly represents the soldiers of the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists also worked in a similar manner: Frédérik Schmidt (born 1796). But we can also mention Édouard Kratz (1803-1885), Schmidt's son (born in 1824), Théodore Carl (born in 1837)...

WURTZ-PEEZ (Würtz German spelling) COLLECTION:
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 in 1825 with the help of his son and later Pees, his father-in-law. The son continued the production, completing the collection with the help of his father-in-law Mr. Pees under 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. In his book "Paper Soldiers the illustrated history of printed paper armies of the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries" (Golden Age Editions, London 1995), Edward Ryan describes them as "the most precise and complete representation of the troops of the First Empire." Each regiment is represented in all ranks and types of uniforms exhaustively, which is rare in representations of soldiers from Strasbourg.
Mr. Wurtz's son, Frédéric Wurtz, likely supplemented the uniforms he had not personally observed through other documentary sources.
Following the fall of the Second Empire, Frédéric Wurtz refused to remain in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and moved to Paris on Boulevard de Clichy, where he ran a pharmacy. After 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 medical officer; they were exhibited there in 1938 and have remained since.
The expert specialist, Christian Blondieau, considers Wurtz's style comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.