HORSE CHASSEUR'S MUSIC FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD FIGURINE painted in gouache by the WURTZ family, second half of the 19th century, circa 1815-1848. 31156-23.

HUNTER MUSICIANS FROM THE FIRST FRENCH EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS, GOUACHE PAINTED CARDBOARD FIGURINE created by the WURTZ family, second half of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-23

Eight horseback riders, height from 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, 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 great quality. That is why I will open my archives to shed 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 tastes 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 20ᵉ), far from the preferred districts of antiquarians. His choice focused on the specialty that had long attracted him: military curiosities. The spark that led him to this specialty came from his first find: an officer's saber from the Consulate era, 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 valued objects 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 varied. Silent and modest, he had an art and a way 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 shop. He received clients in his apartment, where few objects were displayed temporarily and only occupied a provisional space. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the items he wanted to sell from the neighboring room and often presented them without saying anything, with a slight smile, or if the item presented was truly exceptional, he would simply say in a low 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 bought, 16 rue Henri Pape, in the 13th arrondissement, once again, far from the antiquarian district.
His love for the objects he parted ways with was evident even in the care he took with their packaging. Highly 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 who knew him, leaving behind the unanimous memory of a man of great moral values."

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
The Strasbourg soldiers are cardboard figurines, "flat" soldiers, cut from stiff 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 about cardboard soldiers:
"[...] unlike paper soldiers intended more for youth, often clumsily colored, the cardboard soldier is created for adults and guarantees great uniform accuracy, serving as the basis for our modern documentation...
Why do the little soldiers from Alsace stand out? Because they were, in the majority of cases, created by eyewitnesses of the time or their descendants, and are often contemporary with the era they depict.
During the wars of the Revolution and the Empire, the inhabitants of Strasbourg (a garrison town at the time) witnessed a large number of soldiers with colorful uniforms passing through their streets, heading to fight in Germany.
This influx of troops, which lasted over fifteen years, gave some the idea to 'capture' these beautiful soldiers on paper.
Alsatian authors agree on citing Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the precursor of this genre. Outpacing Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, the Alsatian Zix provides a very realistic portrayal of the soldiers of the time, as he, being a combatant himself, roamed the battlefields more often armed with a pencil than with a rifle. He later became an Army Officer draughtsman.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists continued this need to draw and paint from generation to generation...".

Regarding the collection WURTZ-PEEZ (German spelling Würtz):
Wurtz began his documentation on the First Empire thanks to his friend J.P LÉvêque, a former surgeon of the Grande Armée who had gathered extensive documentation on Napoleon's armies. He started making his figurines in 1825 with the help of his son and then his father-in-law Pees. The son continued the production, completing his collection with the help of his father-in-law in a "Napoleonic" style during the Second Republic (1850), and some of the figurines presented have the date 1848 on the back of the cardboard. These figurines are of excellent 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 complete representation of troops from the First Empire.’ Each regiment is depicted in all ranks and types of uniforms, exhaustively, a rarity in representations of Strasbourg soldiers.
Frédéric Wurtz, son of Mr. Wurtz, likely completed uniforms he didn't personally observe through other documentary sources.
Following the fall of the Second Empire, Frédéric Wurtz refused to stay in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and moved to Paris on Boulevard de Clichy, where he operated a pharmacy. After his passing 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 then. Expert Christian Blondieau judges Wurtz's style to be comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.