6th Hussars Regiment First Empire: Soldiers from Strasbourg cardboard figure painted in gouache by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, circa 1815-1848. 31156-29

6th HUSSARS REGIMENT FIRST EMPIRE: SOLDIERS OF STRASBOURG CARDBOARD FIGURINE painted by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-29

A cavalryman, H 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 who became an antiquarian between the wars. To my knowledge, no biography or article has ever been published about this individual, who is nevertheless known by collectors and is frequently cited in the provenance of historical objects of great quality. That is why I will open my archives to better understand this great connoisseur:
"Mobilized during the First World War, along with his brother in the infantry, the latter was killed in 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 antique dealer. In 1926, he lived at 108 rue de Ménilmontant (Paris 20th arrondissement), far from the traditional antique dealer districts. 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 Consulate era, his first beautiful saber; he called it his 'good luck charm' and always kept it.
The profession of an antique dealer allowed Saint-Aubin to see and possess these cherished objects for a while. A keen connoisseur, he never made mistakes, 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 manner that left an enduring memory among the enthusiasts 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 displayed temporarily. Usually, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the objects he wanted to sell from the neighboring room and would present them mostly without saying anything, with a slight smile, or if the item being shown was truly exceptional, he would simply say, without raising his voice, 'This is spectacular...'.
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, 16 rue Henri Pape in the 13th arrondissement, once again, far from the antique dealer district.
His love for the items he parted with was evident even in the care he took in packaging them. Very skilled with his hands, he would perfectly protect 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 memory of a man with great moral values."

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
The soldiers of Strasbourg are cardboard figurines, "flat" soldiers, cut out from rigid cardboard. In most cases, these soldiers are drawn and then printed in sheets to make it easier to 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 about cardboard soldiers:
"[...] unlike paper soldiers mainly intended for children, often colored in a clumsy manner, the cardboard soldier is created for adults and guarantees a high level of uniform accuracy, which serves as the basis for our modern documentation...
Why are the little soldiers of Alsace so important? Because they were mostly 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 residents of Strasbourg (then a garrison town) saw a large number of soldiers in colorful uniforms passing through their city heading to fight in Germany.
This influx of troops, which lasted for more than fifteen years, inspired some to 'capture' these beautiful soldiers in action.
Alsace authors universally mention Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the genre's precursor. Leading ahead of 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 was a fighter himself, traversing battlefields more often armed with a pencil than a rifle. He became the Army's official illustrator.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists continued this need to draw and paint from generation to generation [...]".
During the First Empire, Strasbourg had about 30,000 inhabitants, with a permanent garrison of between 6,000 and 10,000 soldiers. The city was also a required stop for numerous troops of the Revolution and the Grande Armée heading to campaigns beyond the Rhine.
Among all these artists, and for this period, the three most famous are: Thiébaut Borerst (incorrectly spelled Boersch) (1782-1824), a miller who started drawing around 1800, a nephew of painter Benjamin Zix, his collection was auctioned in Angers on March 10, 1971, his style is likely the most refined we know. Eugène Nicollet (1802-1872), who painted his soldiers as early as 1817 (at age 15) and continued for 55 years, his collection is preserved at the Compiègne Museum, his style is more naive. Wurtz, to whom we dedicate a specific paragraph. Paul Schmidt, whose each figurine is labeled on the back with the soldier's name as "sketched," this collection is kept at the Army Museum in Paris and features soldiers of the National Guard of Strasbourg, among others.
Other artists worked in the same way: Frédérik Schmidt (born in 1796). But we can also mention Édouard Kratz (1803-1885), Schmidt's son (born in 1824), Théodore Carl (born in 1837)...

WURTZ-PEEZ COLLECTION (Würtz German spelling):
Wurtz began his documentation under the First Empire with the help of his friend J.P LÉvêque, a former surgeon of the Grande Armée who had gathered significant documentation on Napoleon's armies. He started making his figurines in 1825 with the assistance of his son and then Pees, his father-in-law. The production was continued by his son, who completed the collection with Pees 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 exceptional quality. In Edward Ryan's book “Paper Soldiers the illustrated history of printed paper armies of the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries” (Golden Age Editions, London 1995), he 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 in an exhaustive manner, which is rare for Strasbourg soldiers' representations.
The son of Mr. Wurtz, Frédéric Wurtz probably completed the uniforms he did not personally observe using other documentary sources.
After 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. 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 medical major; they were exhibited there in 1938 and have remained since then.
The expert Christian Blondieau considers Wurtz's style comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.