TRAIN OF THE TEAMS OF THE FIRST EMPIRE LINE: SOLDIERS OF STRASBOURG CARDBOARD FIGURINE GOUACHE painted by the WURTZ family, second third of the 19th century, around 1815-1848. 31156-43

TRAIN DES ÉQUIPAGES DE LA LIGNE FIRST EMPIRE: STRASBOURG SOLDIERS CARBOARD FIGURINE painted by the WURTZ family, second half of the 19th century, circa 1815-1848. 31156-43

A cavalryman, H from the bottom of the base to eye level 10.5 cm.
Mounted on a wooden base.

France.
Second quarter of the 19th century.
Good condition.

PROVENANCE:
Former Wurtz-Peés 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 personality, yet he is well-known among collectors and is frequently cited 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 in Verdun. Both shared the same taste for military souvenirs; both drew and published their drawings in the magazine 'La Giberne' before 1914.
After the war, he set up as an antique dealer. In 1926, he lived at 108 rue de Ménilmontant (Paris 20th), far from the preferred neighborhoods of antiquaries. His choice focused on the specialty that had attracted him for a long time: military curiosities. His journey in this specialization was sparked by his first find: an officer's saber of light cavalry from the Consulate, his first beautiful sword; 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 knowledgeable expert, he never made mistakes and his clients benefited from his expertise. 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 military object dealers of that era, Marcel Saint-Aubin did not have a store. He welcomed visitors in his apartment, where few objects were displayed temporarily. Generally, like Paul Jean, he would fetch the objects he wanted to sell from the neighboring room and often presented them without saying anything, with a slight smile, or if the object was truly exceptional, he would simply say in a nonchalant tone 'It’s top-notch...'.
In June 1940, during the occupation, he moved to 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 district.
His love for the objects he parted with was also evident in the care he took in packaging them. A highly skilled craftsman, he perfectly protected even the most modest piece.
Marcel Saint-Aubin passed away at the age of 83, carrying with him the respect of all who knew him, leaving behind a unanimously esteemed memory of a man of 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 book "Petits soldats de plomb, d'étain, de papier, de carton ... 1765-1965 - Le guide du collectionneur” Editions Le Képi Rouge Paris 1996, specifies for cardboard soldiers:
"[...] unlike paper soldiers intended more for children, often colored clumsily, cardboard soldiers are made for adults and provide a high level of uniform accuracy, which serves as the basis for our modern documentation…
Why do the Alsatian small soldiers hold a special reference? 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 inhabitants of Strasbourg (then a garrison town) saw a large number of soldiers in multicolored uniforms marching through their city on their way to fight in Germany.
This influx of troops, lasting for over fifteen years, inspired some to capture these beautiful soldiers in the moment.
Alsatian authors unanimously mention Benjamin Zix (1772-1811) as the precursor of this art form. Preceding Léopold Beyer, the German Geisler, or the Austrian Klein, Alsatian Zix provides a very realistic portrayal of the soldiers of the time, since he himself, being a combatant, traversed battlefields more often armed with a pencil than with a rifle. He became an official Army illustrator.
From the peace of 1815 to the war of 1914, Strasbourg artists continued this tradition of drawing and painting from generation to generation…”

COLLECTION WURTZ (German spelling Würtz):
Wurtz began his documentation during the First Empire and started making his figurines in 1815. The production continued with his son, who completed the collection with the help of his father-in-law, Mr. Peés, under the Second Republic, and 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 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 the troops of the First Empire." Each regiment is depicted in all ranks and types of uniforms in an exhaustive manner, which is rare in portrayals of Strasbourg soldiers.
Wurtz's son likely supplemented the uniforms he had not personally observed through other documentary sources, although he left no notes or documentation.
Upon the fall of the Second Empire, Wurtz's son refused to remain in Strasbourg under Prussian occupation and moved to Paris, where he ran a pharmacy in the Porte de Clichy neighborhood. Following his death in 1899, the majority of his collection - nearly 16,000 figurines passed down from his ancestor - was donated to the Musée de l'Armée on October 1 of the same year; they were exhibited there in 1938 and have remained there since then.
The expert Christian Blondieau considers Wurtz's style comparable to that of Nicollet and Kratz.