Lot 47: Albert Heim (German, born 1890) A folio of drawings and caricatures from World War I various sizes (79)

A folio of drawings and caricatures from World War I
some variously signed, inscribed and dated, pen and ink and gouache, all unframed
various sizes (79)
Together with a caricature 'Ein herzlich Prost zum neuen Jahr!' by Rudolf Reschreiter (German, 1868-1939) and several works by other hands.

PROVENANCE:
Lieutenant General Theodor von Wundt, 51rst (Württemburg) Reserve infantry Brigade
Thence by descent

This fascinating archive concentrates in the main on the German front line in the Somme between 1914-1916. Most of the works are by Albert Heim who was commissioned to record life behind the front lines by Lieutenant General von Wundt of the 26th Division. The often humorous drawings offer an insight into the soldiers' day to day life during World War I. Several of the drawings depict Thiepval, one of the fortress villages that was held by the Germans on the Somme front until September 1916. The village had been destroyed by the British bombardment, except for one part of the chateau, the ruins of which contained machine gun nests. The houses in the village, although destroyed, had deep cellars where the Germans held out. Another work shows a trench, 'schützengraben', after the British attack in Beaumont on 3 September 1916, with most of the men lying dead or wounded.

The von Wundt family history is extensive, going back to the Xth century, and includes many generals in its lineage. Theodor von Wundt was also an avid alpinist. He climbed the Matterhorn and wrote several mountaineering books including "Ich und die Berge". The Zermatt Museum records him as one of the three most famous people to visit and hike in the Zermatt area, together with Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt.