Items Made and Sold in Britain by Napoleonic POWs

[GCCE1854]

We've been quite watching a lot of Antiques Roadshow episodes recently and enjoying learning about so many pieces. This has really opened up the world of items made and sold in England by French POWs during the Napoleonic War. It's an aspect of the homefront that I've, personally, never heard about and is now absolutely fascinating me. We've seen straw-work, bone carvings and hand-painted playing cards. I'm sure there are all kinds of other things, so I thought it'd be nice to have a thread where everyone can share pictures/stories/items from this period that were made by POWs -- the vast majority of whom were French (with some Dutch and Americans) and lived in the POW prisons at Norman Cross and Dartmoor.

 

There's a great article about these items here: https://regencyredingote.wordpress.com/2017/12/15/napoleonic-prisoner-of-war-crafts/

 

Here's a collection of various carved bone items from this period and all listed as having been created by POWs. (None of these are actually my items.)

 

Please, add any info about this subject that you can, as it's definitely a learning area for me.

 

 

 

 

[GCCE1854]

To start with, I thought it'd be interesting to mention the straw work. I think the most notable on the show that we've seen was a box that belonged to Rev. John Newton (author of Amazing Grace). 

 

Now, there have been several other straw-work pieces appearing on the show so far, which made me look up the technique a bit. Interestingly, it's been popular since at least the 17th Century -- and seems a bit hard to date some pieces, causing the majority to be listed as POW-made pieces. The more primitive "cases" or "boxes" used as bases for the pieces (often cheap pine wood) does seem to be a good clue that they were made by prisoners.

 

Here's an example that's currently for sale online from Susan Silver Antiques. What's amazing to me about this is the beautiful color preserved on the bottom of the box and inside -- both places that have not been faded by light.

 

 

 

 

 

The straw-work technique is often compared to veneer, as it's a similar art -- just using straw instead of wood!

The whole piece of straw is split lengthwise, opened and laid flat into straw "ribbons". The craftsmen used different straws for their different shades and were able to create some marvelous designs, often using dyes of one sort or another to add colour (as seen above) to their work. Sadly, the colours faded over the years, but it seems that the insides of most pieces still retain some of the original brilliance. 

 

When looking at these, I was imagining the worker gluing the straw pieces directly to the box (overlay work that is termed "marquetry"), though reading online some histories of this, it seems that it was often glued to paper first in the various patterns. These could then be cut to different sizes and applied in more patterns to the box or piece being worked.

[Brian Keith]

Very interesting! Thanks for posting them.

BKW

[GMPETE]

That sewing 'book' box is a particularly fine example.  Such a great area of study because of the limitless variety.  Some of this work can be very hard to distinguish from that done by American and European whalers in the period (for me at least) as not all the craft aboard ship was whalebone or ivory so provenance can be pretty important. 

Love all that stuff.

[Preppy Picker]

I once had a collection of matching miniature furniture made from feather quills by a Napoleonic prisoner.

 

Your collection is world class.

 

Great stuff.

[GCCE1854]

Here's another interesting example I found listed on an online auction. Saw one very similar on Antiques Roadshow the other night (an episode from several years ago), and the woman and wheel move when the string is pulled. They're quite small and dainty, which the pictures don't imply. This one was listed as being 10cm high.

 

 

 

On 2/14/2022 at 10:07 PM, GMPETE said:

That sewing 'book' box is a particularly fine example.  Such a great area of study because of the limitless variety.  Some of this work can be very hard to distinguish from that done by American and European whalers in the period (for me at least) as not all the craft aboard ship was whalebone or ivory so provenance can be pretty important. 

Love all that stuff.

 

I've been finding a lot of examples that did not come from POWs, though I think the provenance is almost impossible on a lot of the items. It's a rather fascinating area of research -- particularly as it's all quite new to me. The straw marquetry is certainly an old art that was practiced across Europe long before the Napoleonic era. Provenance can be tricky, but there do seem to have been a lot of POW-made items sold throughout England.

 

On 2/15/2022 at 12:41 AM, Preppy Picker said:

I once had a collection of matching miniature furniture made from feather quills by a Napoleonic prisoner.

Your collection is world class. Great stuff.

 

Glad you're enjoying the thread! These aren't actually my collection. This is an area I've only just learned about, so I thought it'd be great to have a thread that shows off examples of these types of things -- and, hopefully, encourage anyone who does have some in their own collection to share photos. 

[Preppy Picker]

I’ve always loved prisoner art and wish I had pictures of some of the items that passed through my hands.

[GCCE1854]

Another beautiful example of these POW items are the hand-painted playing cards. I found photos of this quite amazing set documented here:

https://www.wopc.co.uk/uk/prisoners-of-war

 

The cards were made by POWs at Porchester Castle in Hampshire and are dated about 1796. The detail is quite amazing, and the colors are still so vibrant.