Paper

The history of paper toy soldiers dates back to the mid-118th century, with the city of Strasbourg, France, being a major point of origin. In 1744, a printer named Seyfried in Strasbourg created paper soldiers to capitalize on the local interest in the presence of King Louis XV’s troops. These early figures were often sold in black and white sheets that children had to cut out and color themselves. The practice spread, and by the mid-19th century, the French company Pellerin d’Epinal was a major producer of paper soldiers known as Imagerie d’Epinal. Later, in the 1890s, the American company McLoughlin Brothers produced paper and cardboard soldiers that were sold both as individual sets and as part of games. Another producer, H. Bouquet was an advertising publisher established in Paris around 1893. They obtained a certain notoriety by publishing a collection of cutting boards with subjects printed “double-sided” in four-color printing under the label “Pro-Patria”. This series, the first plates of which appeared between 1914-1917, offers a good perspective of the French and allied armies during WW I with groups and decorations. There are 38 different plates, the last of which will only appear between 1928 and 1931. By coincidence or on purpose, plates 39 and 40 represent soldiers from WW II.