W. Cramer 1794 – An English Recruit and A French Recruit
Two original drawings dated 1794, displayed in a splendid 18th century carved and gilded frame. Both drawings are signed and inscribed with their respective titles: Left: Decem – An English Recruit – W. Cramer 1794. Right: W. Cramer – A. French Recruit – Decem’r 8: 94. Pen and ink with grey and colour washes on laid watermarked paper. Presented in a single mount with each figure facing the other. Framed and glazed. The bill to allow the British government to create regiments of émigrés from France received Royal Assent: 9 May 1794.
English Recruit, sheet: 10 3/4 x 8 1/16 in. (27.3 x 20.5 cm.) Watermark; Curtis/es & Sons
French Recruit, sheet: 10 7/16 x 8 1/4 in. (26.5 x 21 cm.) Watermark; Crown Fleur de Lis 65.
Mount: 13 3/8 x 24 in. (41.5 x 61 cm.)
Frame: 20 1/2 x 28 3/4 in. (52 x 74 cm.)
Provenance: The estate of Lloyd Tyrell-Kenyon, 6th Baron Kenyon, who died in 2019. Consigned to Trevanion, Fine Art & Antiqu
...e Auction, 23 June, 2021. Part lot 512.
Published: British Museum No. 1878,0511.1370
Condition: ‘An English Recruit’, The paper has discoloured with age and has two tears which have been consolidated by lining onto archival backing paper and two punctures above the head of the recruit, inside the wash-line: ‘A French Recruit’, The paper has discoloured with age and has two punctures above the head of the recruit, inside the wash-line. All conservation work, and mounting has been carried out by an accredited paper conservator.
The print in the BM has been given a suggested date of c.1781 (this is unlikely) and is thought to be a re-issue of a Colley Plate. Published by William Humphrey, the two figures are represented on a single sheet standing facing each other with the French Recruit on the left. The figures in our drawings appear in reverse, another notable difference is the stretch of water in the background of the French Recruit (not seen in the print), also the lettering is different.
Thomas Colley 1778-1793 (fl.) was a prolific etcher and publisher who held several addresses in London from 1780-83. His last address was at 3 Union Street, Portsmouth 1793. BM.
For the following reasons our research suggests our drawings may have been the original''s used as templates for the print.
When etched onto copper plates the images would appear on the prints in reverse to the original drawings.
In 1794 ‘The Enlistment Act’ (also known as the Emigrant Corps Bill or Act) allowed the British government to create regiments of émigrés from France. This specific legislation was needed to enlist men who were not British subjects in the British Army and to allow George III to commission foreigners as officers. The Act was a major break from the military conventions about enlisting soldiers from other states in the Eighteenth Century. The Act expired with the Peace of Amiens.
Many of those who fled France in the wake of the French Revolution were soldiers and officers of the French Royal Army. With the outbreak of French Revolutionary Wars in 1792 émigré nobles set up units and formed Armče des émigrés. Soon after the French declaration of war on Britain in February 1793, émigré officers also offered to raise units for the British Army. The British government welcomed the additional manpower.
The first unit to be raised was the Loyal Emigrant Regiment by Louis duc de La Chastre. To avoid political problems, the officers were commissioned by George III as Elector of Hanover and then they were transferred to British pay. This arrangement was not practical for further offers, so new legislation was introduced to allow émigré units to be raised and maintained directly by Britain.
As the French officers of these units were Catholic, they needed exemptions from British laws against Catholics. Also, throughout the Eighteenth Century, many British MPs had been hostile to employing foreign troops within the British Army.
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T: 01597 272 439
M: 07790 208 712Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA1098746
Dateline of this antique is 18th Century
Height is 52cm (20.5inches)Width is 74cm (29.1inches)Depth is 7cm (2.8inches)
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