4th and 6th REGIMENTS OF HUSSARS FIRST EMPIRE: SOLDIERS OF STRASBOURG CARDBOARD FIGURE PAINTED IN GOUACHE by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, circa 1815-1848. 31156-27.

4th and 6th HUSSARS REGIMENTS FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARDBOARD FIGURINE painted in gouache by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-27

Three horsemen, height from the base of the stand to eye level 10.5 cm. Mounted on a wooden stand.

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 personality who is nevertheless well known to collectors and often cited in the provenance of historical objects of high quality. That is why I will open my archives to better acquaint 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; 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 preferred neighborhoods of antiquarians. His choice focused on the specialty that had attracted him for a long time: military curiosities. His interest in this specialty was sparked by his first find: an officer's saber from the Consulate, his first fine saber; he called it his 'good luck charm' and always kept it.
The profession of an antiquarian allowed Saint-Aubin to see and possess these cherished objects for a while. A fine connoisseur, he never made mistakes, and his clients benefited from his knowledge. A passionate researcher, everything he discovered in his life was amazingly varied. Silent and modest, he had an art and a manner that left an indelible memory among the enthusiasts who knew him.
Like most dealers of military items of that time, Marcel Saint-Aubin did not have a shop. He received clients in his apartment, where few objects were on display and only temporarily. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the items he wanted to sell from the next room and often presented them without saying anything, with a slight smile, or if the 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 in late 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 items he parted with was reflected even in the care he took in their packaging. Very skillful with his hands, he perfectly protected even the most modest piece.
Marcel Saint-Aubin died at the age of 83, taking with him the esteem of all 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 in sheets to easily multiply their numbers.
Christian Blondieau, in his work "Little soldiers of lead, tin, paper, cardboard ... 1765-1965 - The collector's guide," Editions Le Képi Rouge Paris 1996, specifies regarding cardboard soldiers:
"[...] unlike paper soldiers intended more for youth, often colored in a clumsy manner, the cardboard soldier is designed for adults and provides a guarantee of great uniformological precision, which serves as the basis for our modern documentation...
Why do the Alsace small soldiers stand out? Because they were often made 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 (a garrison town at that time) witnessed a large number of soldiers in colorful uniforms passing through their streets departing for Germany.
This influx of troops, which lasted more than fifteen years, gave some the idea to capture these fine soldiers live. Alsatian authors agree in citing Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the precursor of the genre. Anticipating Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, Alsatian Zix provides a very realistic aspect of the soldiers of the time, as a combatant himself, he roamed the battlefields more often armed with a pencil than a rifle. He became an Army Officer draftsman.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists handed down this need to draw and paint from generation to generation [...]"

Under the First Empire, Strasbourg had approximately 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of between 6,000 and 10,000 soldiers. The city was also a must-pass for countless troops from the Revolution and the Grande Armée departing for campaigns beyond the Rhine.
Among these artists, three are best known for this period: Thiébaut Borerst (incorrectly spelled Boersch) (1782-1824), a miller who started drawing around 1800, a nephew of the painter Benjamin Zix, his collection was scattered at an auction in Angers on March 10, 1971. His style is likely the most refined we know. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872), who painted soldiers from 1817 (when he was 15 years old) and continued for 55 years, his collection is preserved at the Compiegne Museum, his style is more naive. Wurtz, to whom we dedicate a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose each figurine is annotated on the back with the name of the soldier as sketched, this collection is held at the Army Museum in Paris and represents soldiers of the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.

WURTZ-PEEZ COLLECTION (German sp. Würtz):
Wurtz began his documentation during the First Empire thanks to his friend J.P Lévêque, a former surgeon of the Grande Armée who had gathered important documentation on Napoleon's armies. He started making his figurines around 1825 with the help of his son and later Pees, his father-in-law. The production was continued by his son, who completed his “Napoleonic” collection with the assistance of his father-in-law Mr. Pees under the Second Republic (1850); some of the figurines we are presenting bear the date 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 the troops of the First Empire.” Each regiment is depicted in all ranks and types of uniforms exhaustively, which is rare in representations of Strasbourg soldiers.

Frédéric Wurtz, the son of Mr. Wurtz, probably completed the uniforms he had not personally observed using other documentary sources.
After 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 ran a pharmacy. Following 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 medical officer; they were exhibited in 1938 and have been there since. Expert Christian Blondieau considers Wurtz’s style comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.