ERNEST FORT (1868-1938)

ERNEST FORT (1868-1938)
Collection of eight drawings of customs officers in uniform under Louis-Philippe, the Second Empire and the Third Republic, circa 1911
1853, Customs officer and controller (Algeria) - 1890-191..., Assistant controller in service uniform - 1836, Customs on horseback - 1908, Customs boss, sailor in coat - 1882, Inspector, territorial [...]on chief - 1885, Customs officers, northern frontier - Officer from 1856 - 1836, Customs officer on duty (Pyrenees)
Gouache, watercolor and India ink on paper
Signed, titled and some dated '1911' lower right
(Minor wetness and two frames damaged)
Gouache, watercolor and Indian ink on paper, signed, inscribed and some drawings dated '1911' lower right
29,5 x 20,5 cm - 11 5/8 x 8 1/8 in.

Provenance
Private collection, France (by descent)

Note
Archivist and librarian in Bayonne, Ernest Fort was an illustrator, watercolorist and designer of uniforms from the Empire to the Great War. He is the author of several publications, including "Bayonne pendant la Guerre 14-18" and "Ernest Fort, peintre de l'uniforme des douanes". Fort distinguishes eight periods in the history of customs uniforms: 1791 to 1815, 1815 to 1835, 1835 to 1845, 1845 to 1852, 1852 to 1870, 1870 and 1871, 1871 to 1904 and 1904 to 1910. They mark the main stages of successive changes in dress, and more than once, as we shall see with the author, these changes are due to the important events of the time.