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The unique fate of tin soldier

Celebrated Russian scientist and physician Ivan Pavlov believed that true collectors often have passion for pieces that do not have any value except for purpose of collecting itself. The famous psychologist once wrote: ⌠Taking into consideration self-devotion and self-denial of a collector who is steady in his or hers aim, we can state that this passion for collecting is an instinct, a reflex■.

When speaking about the history of tin toys and tin soldiers in particular, we first recall the story ⌠The Steadfast Tin Soldier■ by Danish playwright and author Hans Christian Andersen. Nowadays, a tin soldier is not just a mere toy: the history of this cultural phenomenon dates back several centuries. Tin soldiers had numerous fans and worshipers. However, one could hardly call the passion for collecting of miniature soldiers and accessories just a ⌠reflex■ or an ⌠instinct■. This is a world with its rules, regulations and customs, a kind of tangent universe with its own time and space.

Miniature model of the Battle of Trebbia. June 7, 1799. Fragment. 1997. St. Petersburg. The State Suvorov Memorial Museum [zoom (28k)]

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, the late XVI √ early XVII century military leader and reformer of the Netherlands was the first to introduce the idea of modeling military operations by the means of small tin figures.

It is known, that he established a unified troop training system and severe discipline in the Dutch army, laid down the foundation for new battle tactics, improved siege and defensive tactics and introduced new type of cavalry ≈ reiters and cuirassiers, as well as light artillery units. Those reforms were partially inspired by comparative studying of Roman battle tactics and weapons, and contemporary lance-armed forces by the means of tin soldiers.

Many European monarchs and their heirs often possessed rather small (by modern standards) but extremely valuable collections of miniature soldiers. For instance, Louis XIV owned three hundred silver warriors, while Joseph Francois Charles Bonaparte, the son of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte commanded the army of one hundred and seventeen gold soldiers representing officers and privates of Corsica-based regiments. In Russia, the most comprehensive collection of tiny wooden, wax and lead soldiers belonged to Peter III. Favorite soldiers of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (Emperor Paul I, 1796√1801) were made of porcelain, which was then considered very rare and valued material.

Miniature soldiers became widespread and popular toys among children in XVIII century. By the time, German masters began producing tin soldiers instead of the wooden ones. As it was a much easier and less time-taking job to make a tin figurine rather than to carve one by hand, soon German-made sets of tin soldiers became favorite toys of many boys in Western Europe and in Russia.

From Germany tin miniatures moved eastwards via Baltic region and Poland. In St. Petersburg in XIX century there were three large workshops producing metal toys; two of them specialized in tin soldiers. The first workshop ≈ ⌠V. Leisemann▓s Metal Toy Works■ (St. Petersburg, 35 Golovinskaya Street) was founded in 1875. Alongside toy soldiers that were very popular among buyers, the company produced tin coaches, ships and steam engines. The second workshop ⌠A.D. Podguzov▓s Exporting Office of Handicraft Wares■ was established in St. Petersburg in 1902 and located on 24, Kamennoostrovsky prospect.

Both companies produced both three-D and flat figures: while three-D figures were more solid, durable and executed in more details, the flat ones cost lesser. In his memoirs renowned Russian artist and collector of toys, Alexander Nikolaevich Benois admitted that he preferred expensive three-D tin soldiers that were sold in special boxes together with such accessories as tents, cannons and other military equipment. XX century introduced collectible toy ⌠armies■ consisting of different service branches and soldiers of various sizes wearing all kinds of uniforms. Nowadays, there are three main trends of collecting of toy soldiers: historic re-enactments, wargaming and subject collecting.

Still, the most popular branch of modern tin soldier collecting is wargaming. Modern wargaming originated with the military need to study warfare and to ⌠reenact■ old battles for instructional purposes. Famous English writer Herbert Wells was an enthusiast of that amusement. In 1913, he wrote a book ⌠Little Wars■. It is a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers. Its full title is ⌠Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys▓ games and books■.

The game, geared towards boys, revolved around the use of lead soldiers and battlefields made from whatever materials were on hand, usually blocks or other toys. ⌠Little Wars■ is considered by some to be the first modern table top war game.

It included fairly complex rules for infantry, cavalry, and even artillery in the form of a toy 4.7 inch naval gun that launched projectiles, usually small wooden dowels to knock down enemy soldiers. In addition to it being a war game, the book hints at several philosophical aspects of war.

Modern miniature wargaming typically involves the use of 6╛30 mm painted metal or plastic miniatures for units, and model scenery placed on a tabletop or floor as a playing surface, although other open areas such as gardens and sandboxes are sometimes used. Miniatures games generally measure distance for movement and range with a string or tape measure.

Miniature wargamers generally prefer rule sets that can be used for any battle in a particular era or war, instead of a specific event, as is common in board wargames. Because armies and terrain can be combined in all possible ways, miniatures wargaming is generally more varied and flexible than other forms of wargaming. The preparation also tends to be more time consuming and expensive. Miniature wargamers typically enjoy painting miniatures and constructing terrain, and this is an important part of the hobby for them.

Nowadays, wargames reenacting events of Napoleonic wars are the most popular among collectors due to peculiarities of military tactics of the age, colourful and attractive uniform of soldiers and variety of comprehensive data on the subject.

Miniature model of the Battle of Kunersdorf. August 1, 1759. Fragment. 1997. St. Petersburg. The State Suvorov Memorial Museum [zoom (69k)]

There are also a variety of fantasy games, for instance Warhammer created by Games Workshop and the origin of the Warhammer Fantasy setting. The game is played with ⌠regiments■ of fantasy miniatures. It uses stock of fantasy races; each race has its own unique strengths and flaws.

Subject collections usually feature miniatures of different size, relating to different ages and made of different materials. Everything depends on a collector▓s idea and taste or on a certain criterion. Such collections can comprise miniatures of a certain age, created by celebrated artists and designers.

Collectors and experts have developed a number of classification systems for collectible soldiers based on materials, size, colouring and author▓s work. Standard sizes of lead soldiers: 15, 25, 30, 36, 43, 54, 90 and 120 mm.

Flat miniature pieces are usually 30 mm, not including the headgear of a miniature, as it can be considerably higher than the average. Three-D miniatures are commonly 54 mm high. Size of a model soldier is associated with a height of a man: 1:72, 1:43, 1:35, and 1:32. The height of a 1:35 model is equal to 5 cm.

Notably, collectible soldiers are usually made of lead and tin alloy, while plastic or plaster miniatures are not valued by collectors. Much attention should be paid to representation of uniform details, etc.

Collecting of miniatures is quite spread nowadays. There are several specialized editions and Internet sited dedicated to the subject. As to the records, in 1994, a tin miniature representing a Scottish guard made by London-based firm ⌠Britains■ was purchased for 3,080 pounds at a Christie▓s auction. May be one day your collection will lack this very miniature? Who knows?