The 101st Series of the famous Bucquoy cards depicts "La Garnison de Magdebourg en 1814", and card 1 of the set, drawn by R.Knotel, shows this unusual fanion.
The fanion is shown being carried by a Grenadier of the 134th of the line in the manner of a Company Fanion, i.e. on a "rod" inserted into the barrel of a musket - for various reasons I believe that this is incorrect and, in fact, the fanion is for a Battalion not a Company.
The Fanion itself is plain red with the legend GARNISON / DE / MAGDEBOURG in black - most probably this was originally silver but without knowing Knötel's original source it's impossible to be positive, certainly silver paint does fade to black on both original items and illustrations so it is more than possible.
The 134th of the Line was one of the new 1813 foundations with the 1st & 2nd Battalions coming from the Garde de Paris and the 4th Battalion being the ex 4th Battalion of the 125th of the Line, the 5th and 6th Battalions were the ex 4th and 5th Battalions of the 126th of the Line. The 1st & 2nd Battalions fought in IV Corps at Lutzen & Bautzen and the Regiment received a single Eagle and 1812 pattern colour in June or July 1813.
So far, so good, now it gets more complex: On the 29th August 1813 the 134th lost their Eagle to the Prussians at Plagwitz and there is no record of a replacement being issued. So when the 134th became part of the Garrison of Magdeburg they were without any Regimental "colour". It is therefore not stretching credulity too far to suggest that this fanion is a Battalion one for the 1st Battalion which, having lost its Eagle, was without a flag.
A second point which mitigates against this fanion being a Compa-ny one is the complete lack of either a Company designation or the Bursting grenade devices indicative of a Grenadier Company. It may even be that as the garrison shrank in numbers the remain-ing units began to be combined and hence the manufacture of a "Garrison Fanion". If any First Empire reader has further information on the 134th in Magdeburg or on Knötel's original source for this illustration then I would be more than happy to correspond with them.
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