Hello,
Today I'm showing you a small group of Silbermann artillerymen from sheet number 11. They come from the first series of the 8 cm tall figures and were first produced between 1845 and 1853.
Only these 11 figures have survived and found their way into my small collection. They are in remarkably good condition, and the paint is still vibrant.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
I've been searching for ages for some cut-out Silbermann figures for my collection. I finally succeeded; I was able to acquire a small collection at an auction in France.
What I hadn't noticed in the auction photos is that many of the figures came from black and white sheets and were hand-painted, or, as in this example, repainted to suit the needs of the previous owner.
Therefore, the title is misleading and should actually read "Musique d'Chasseurs à pied" (Music for Foot Chasseurs).
This Figures from sheet No. 16 were simply partially repainted to create a band for the foot chasseurs, which Silbermann never actually produced. The leather equipment was blackened, the epaulettes and shako pompoms were recolored—and most strikingly, the red trousers were painted blue and given yellow piping. I think this is a wonderful example of the creativity of figure collectors from a bygone era.
Unfortunately, the new paint has flaked off again in some places – it looks particularly odd on the trousers. Almost as if the figures can't decide what they want to be: light infantry or foot chasseurs.
These figures are from Silbermann's first series with the slightly smaller figures (8 cm tall). They were first printed between 1848 and 1853.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
Today I'm showing you another Silbermann sheet. This time No. 25, featuring the Voltigeurs de la Garde.
From what I've observed, this is probably the only Silbermann sheet you can still find in large numbers today. These voltigeurs were first printed sometime between 1854 and 1857 and were produced until 1870. As always with Gustave Adolphe Henri Silbermann's figures, these are printed with oil paints, which makes them look much more vibrant (and therefore more valuable) than competing products (e.g., Wentzel or Pellerin) from this period.
As with many surviving printed Silbermann sheets, this one also has a subsequent advertising imprint on the back.
The figures are 10 cm high.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
Today I'm showing you one of my Silbermann plates. It's numbered 9 and depicts French Carabiniers. There are several variants of this plate; in addition to the one shown here with 12 riders, there's also a version with only 9 riders. There exist also different color variations of the trousers.
In the first row, you can see a brigadier (corporal), a sergeant, an officer, and a trumpeter. Below them are two rows of enlisted soldiers.
This print was first published in 1845. I suspect that the version shown here is the "later" version and was available until 1870.
At least, the subsequently printed advertisement on the back suggests this.
The figures scale is about 8 cm. From helmet peak to base, they measure approximately 12.5 cm.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello,
While searching for old Silbermann plates, I found this one here in Italy and bought it. I was a bit skeptical from the start because the size of 26.8 cm x 16.2 cm would be much too small for a Silbermann print. Did the seller make a mistake? Did I just find proof that Silbermann also printed much smaller figures that were previously unknown?
Neither. When I finally held the sheet in my hands after a long wait, it turned out to be a modern "copy." A "copy" in terms of the image, but of course not in terms of the format. The figures are only about 5.5 cm high! They were printed using modern CMYK halftone printing. On the back is the well-known advertising imprint for "Cordonnerie Piron." On the originals, the printing ink had soaked through the thin paper, so the print was also slightly visible on the front. Here, however, this print on the front was shown as a halftone print!
What do I have here? Where does this sheet come from, who had it printed and for what purpose, and are there other motifs? If anyone can help me, I would be very grateful for an answer.
Best regards,
Andreas
Hello, It’s time for another Fischbach print! This time it is number 7, depicting mounted artillerymen. Unfortunately, my copy has slight c...
