Flat tin soldiers collection of Paul Armont

Paul Armont (1874–1943) was a successful playwright and screenwriter, and olso one of the most important French collectors before World War II. Armont was his stage name. He was born as Dimitri Petrococchino in Rostov. In 1929, the "L´ILLUSTRATION NOEL 1929" published the article of Armont's brother-in-law Gustave Rossi about flat pewter figures . This was the first big release about pewter figures in France in those days. Already around 1934 Armont began to publish his collection on A3 plates - each figure precisely in 1: 1 - in color. This was certainly not a simple undertaking at that time and the circulation was comparatively small. Each blackboard has its own leaflet in transparent with explanations of the figures. The figures were probably painted by "Maitre Hamel", the favorite painter of Armont since WWI (http://www.flats-zinnfiguren.com/Armont/index2.html).

L´ILLUSTRATION NOEL 1929

30 - Years - War - French Infantry

 1700 - Louis XIV

These photos of Paul Armont were taken by Thérèse Bonney (1894 - 1978). © The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley / Thérèse Bonney / BHVP / Roger-Viollet