Hello,
Today I’m showing you a promotional sheet from the Zentraltheater Vienna, roughly A5 in size. It depicts Prussian infantrymen marching in groups. Unfortunately, the print bears no indication of who produced it; several Austrian or German publishers are likely candidates.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
A few weeks ago, I managed to find this lovely sheet by Oehmigke & Riemschneider at a small online antiquarian shop.
Based on the number 9703, it can be dated to 1896 (or the 1895–97 timeframe). The sheet is stencil-colored and depicts the Imperial German Navy—specifically sailors, soldiers of the See-Battalion, and naval artillerymen—in combat poses.
Best regards, Andreas.
Hello,
Today I’d like to show you a group of figures from my latest find of figures by the Luxuspapierfabrik Berlin. I have finally managed to acquire a "Schürer" box set of the "Army of Frederick the Great." While the figures are not entirely complete and some are damaged, much of the damage can be repaired—and I have the nice box; that’s a start!
The Forcade Regiment (properly *Forcade de Biaix*) was later assigned the number 23 in the Prussian order of precedence and took part in many battles of the Seven Years' War—including such famous engagements as Rossbach, Leuthen, and Zorndorf.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
Today I'm showing you something again from the J.F. Schreiber publishing house in Esslingen. While my research with other major German publishers is somewhat stalled, I'm currently managing to find new information and items from Schreiber.
The sheet I'm presenting today was drawn by Eugen Blumentritt and sold in the 1930s and 1940s. The 12 fusiliers on it are about 8.5 cm tall. The sheet belongs to a series of 10 intended to depict the army of Frederick the Great. The figures have a very simplified, almost cartoonish style.
This sheet is very interesting; it seems to have been a kind of sample sheet used by a salesperson. On the back, a list with the contents and numbers of all ten sheets in this series has been carefully affixed. There are also two stickers indicating the booklets with sheets available from the publisher. There was a booklet with 25 sheets for 3.15 Reichsmarks, or a larger version with 50 sheets for 6.15 Reichsmarks.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello and Happy New Year to you all!
Today I'm showing you a figure sheet from Rauert & Pittius in Sorau. It's number 7 and was the first in a series of 11 sheets depicting the Guard troops of the German Empire.
It shows the band of the Prussian 1.Guard Regiment (zu Fuß). Unfortunately, my copy is a bit worn, and the printing is slightly out of register, so the figures appear a little blurry and not as sharp and high-contrast as is usually the case with Rapi.
Nevertheless, they are wonderful figures that very accurately represent the characteristics of this regiment's uniforms.
This series was probably produced in the early 1930s.
The figures are 8 cm tall.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
today I'm showing you a very old print from the Scholz publishing house.
These sheets, signed "by Joseph Scholz in Mainz," likely represent Scholz's first series of soldier prints and date from the late 1830s and 1840s.
Surprisingly, all early Scholz sheets with Prussian motifs are more or less incorrectly colored. This is particularly noticeable here due to the dark green (instead of dark blue) uniforms. Perhaps they were attempting to depict Russian uniforms? Maybe these prints were originally only in black and white and were colored later. Or were these sheets even produced in different colors? Unfortunately, they are too rare, and I haven't seen enough to make any definitive statements. But it's certainly striking and a curiosity.
The paper used for these prints is very thin. The figures measure approximately 13 cm from toes to forehead.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
today I'm showing you another sheet from Vagné.
This one is number 528 and depicts an overview of troops from the German Army. Besides a few Bavarian and Saxon figures, it's naturally the Prussians who dominate. The figures are meant to represent the uniforms of 1889 (only the Bavarians are shown with references to earlier years). The whole thing is drawn in the typical comic style of this Vagné series.
The figures are about 7.5 cm tall.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
Today I'm showing you a printed sheet from Oehmigke & Riemschneider in Neuruppin. It bears the number 8440 and depicts Prussian foot artillerymen with their teams and guns.
The printed sheet dates back to around 1887. The coloring was done using stencils, and the color was smudged in several places. The red shoulder boards are incorrect. These should have been white for the Guards Foot Artillery Regiment by this time.
The mounted and foot figures differ slightly in size. The foot figures are approximately 7 cm tall, while the mounted figures are slightly smaller at about 6 cm tall.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
Today I'm showing you a printed sheet from Robrahn & Co. in Magdeburg.
It's number 4717 and depicts Prussian Uhlans on horseback. Looking closely at the uniforms, the only possible model is the Silesian Uhlan Regiment No. 2 (Schlesisches Ulanen Regiment Nr.2), as all the other regiments wore different color combinations. The plate depicts 12 riders, each 11.5 cm tall. This corresponds to a man's height of about 8 cm.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
Today we're continuing with the next J.F. Schreiber plate.
This time, number 308 features 8 hussars of the 1.Leib-Husaren Regiment Nr.1. This plate includes an officer and 7 enlisted men. The depiction with the rearing horse is "very special." A cut-out and lined-up troop certainly looks more like dancing circus horses than a tight-knit military unit. The coloring makes the hussars almost dark blue, but their uniforms should actually be black. The figure size is approximately 7 cm. These 300-numbered plates were printed and sold approximately between 1900 and 1916.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
After showing very high-quality printed plates the last few times, today I'm going to show you the opposite.
Today I'm showing you No. 241 from "C. Burckardt's Nachfolger, Weissenburg" (formerly Wentzel) featuring Prussian artillerymen. As was often the case back then, this one was printed on very thin, poor-quality paper.
The graphics and the print itself are fine, but the coloring was done using stencils. Unfortunately, the coloring didn't always hit the right area. In some places, the ink soaked into the paper, and in some places the still-wet paint was smudged. Nevertheless, a nice example of the cheap mass production of the time.
And definitely good enough to create my own hand-painted figures using the scans of this plate – but more on that later.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
Today I'm showing you a printed sheet from the German manufacturer Rauert & Pittius (RAPI) from Sorau. The sheet has the number S14 and shows soldiers of the Prussian Gardes du Corps Regiment in the uniform from shortly before World War I.
A total of 15 riders in parade uniform are shown, including 1 officer, 1 Feldwebel (staff sergeant), 1 trumpeter, 2 Unteroffiziere (sergeants) and 10 men. It was probably printed in the mid or late 1920s. The height of the figures is 10.5cm from the horse's hoof to the tip of the helmet.
Andreas
Hello, It’s time for another Fischbach print! This time it is number 7, depicting mounted artillerymen. Unfortunately, my copy has slight c...
