Silhouette Miniatures from Scraps Folio

Circa 1826–1849

Cut paper, sizes from ¾ in. to 7 in. high; shown: H. 2¼, W. 1¾ inches

Courtesy of Peggy McClard Americana & Folk Art, Houston, Tx


A personal folio by the master silhouettist, Augustin Edouart, has come to light. In 1849, Edouart’s folios, which included more than 100,000 duplicate silhouettes, sank in a shipwreck. Some of the folios were raised from the bottom of the bay and Edouart left these with the family who cared for him after the shipwreck. The family sold them in the 20th century and the duplicate silhouettes, as well as a few other recovered folios (perhaps kept by the salvagers), have been available for collectors and museums.


The silhouettes in the newly uncovered folio, however, do not appear to be duplicates. Edouart named this volume Animaux and described the contents on the paper edges as Scraps. It seems that Edouart took this recovered book back to France after the shipwreck, where it remained until recently located with a Parisian bookseller. Edouart used Animaux to store uncommon figures that he needed to practice for commissions, as well as miniature figures, mythical figures, and animals and such that he cut for his own amusement. In America, these silhouettes are being offered for sale exclusively by Peggy McClard Americana & Folk Art.



This Discovery was originally published in the Autumn 2017 issue of Antiques & Fine Art magazine, a fully digitized version of which is available at afamag.com. AFA is affiliated with Incollect.