An hand tinted portrait of a grenadier-à-pied and a "Pupille" of the Napoleonic Garde Impériale . The man from the "Vieille Garde" wears the famous bearskin with a tassel hanging from the top. A helm plate with imperial eagle is clearly visible. The grénadier-à-pied wears his full dress with a backpack, saber briquet and a musket. The man is decorated with a Légion d'Honneur.
Interesting is the young boy holding a small flute. Too young to be a Napoleonic veteran he shows the Regiment of Puppiles uniform. The Pupilles, or "baby guard" were formed in September 1810 with children aged between 11 and 15 years [Paul L. Dawson: Napoleon's Imperial Guard, The Infantry. p260]. The boy's uniform is probably a copy of the Second Empire.

The portrait reminds us of the beautiful veteran portraits in the Anne S.K. Brown collection. Although those photos were taken by another photographer: Erwin Hanfstaengl. It remains very rare to see men (veterans?) photographed wearing a Napoleonic uniform.

The albumen print was photographed by Jules Louis Bernard (1837-1896) and A. Nugues. Their address was 3, Place D'Armes in Valenciennes, France.
Jules Louis Bernard, son of the professor of Architecture at the Valenciennes academies Jean Baptiste Bernard and student of Henri Aubert Parent in Paris, settled in Valenciennes where he devoted himself to photography, reproducing many monuments and buildings of Valenciennes, the Inca festivals and other ceremonies, the old houses and the cemetery.

Albumen print mounted on original cardboard. The photographer's imprint was cut away in this example. Overall good condition. Original retouching and coloring on the print.

Photo ca. 15 x 10,5 cm
Mount ca. 23,4 x 16,2 cm

👉 This hand tinted albumen print is part of the Bazar Nadar "History Class Collection".
Based on these unique images, we will tell you about the origins of the medium during workshops.