Voltigeurs de la Garde Impériale - Silbermann No.25

 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

Carabiniers - Silbermann No.9

 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

Artillerie de la Garde Impériale - Silberman No.26 (FAKE?)

 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