BOUCHOT, Frédéric; MONNIER, Henri

Recueil de Caricatures

Paris: Delpech, 1840. Item #05273

Rare Collaboration Between Frédéric Bouchot and Henri Monnier

BOUCHOT, Frédéric. [&] MONNIER, Henri. Recueil de Caricatures par Bouchot. [Paris, n.d., ca. 1840].

Oblong quarto (10 1/4 x 13 3/8 inches; 260 x 340 mm). Lithographed title-page and eight hand-colored lithographed plates. Four by Frédéric Bouchot and four by Henri Monnier, all lithographed by Bernard. In addition there is a ninth hand colored lithograph (mounted on a stub at end) marked in pencil "Planche Supplémentaire" and entitled "C'est donc comme ca que vous travaillez, Mesdemoiselles". All plates interleaved, some light mottling/darkening mainly to the blank margins, otherwise near fine.

Bound ca. 1880 in quarter brown straight-grain morocco over marbled boards, spine with five shallow raised bands, decoratively tooled in blind and lettered in gilt in compartments, marbled endpapers.

The Plates:

1. "Enfin c'est la vertu personnifiée" Finally it is virtue personified (Monnier, Henri)
2. "Grace à la Dotel" Thanks to old fool (Bouchot, Frédéric)
3. "Mon cher il faut se faire un état dans le monde" My dear, must make a statement in the world (Monnier, Henri)
4. "Madame perd sa tournure" Madame loses her turn (Monnier, Henri)
5. "Mon ami, c'est une envie de femme grosse" My friend, it's a fat woman's desire (Bouchot, Frédéric)
6. "On lit le Roman… Madame est sortie!" We read the Roman… Madame is out! (Bouchot, Frédéric)
7. "Madame est mon épouse et non ma fille" Madame its my wife, not my daughter (Monnier, Henri)
8. "Une consultation mise à profit" A consultation put to good use (Bouchot, Frédéric) A doctor takes a patient's pulse while another patient sticks out his tongue for diagnosis. (An example of this lithograph is held by U.S. The National Library of Medicine).
9* "C'est donc comme ca que vous travaillez, Mesdemoiselles" So that's how you work, ladies (Bouchot, Frédéric)

There is a black & white example of this print in Les Musées de la Ville de Paris.

Frederic Bouchot (1798-1860) was a leading French lithographic caricaturist and illustrator, who regularly contributed his art to such publications as "Le Charivari", "La Caricature" and "Journal pour rire". He also collaborated on individually published albums with such artists as Daumier and Morin. Known primarily for his depictions of musical subjects and domestic scenes.

Henry Monnier (1799-1877) was a leading French caricaturist and satirical artist of the early nineteenth century, who entered the civil service at the age of sixteenth. Completely bored with his duties as a clerk he entered the atelier of Baron Gros several years later. A gifted actor, Henry Monnier entertained his fellow students with numerous impersonations, including that of his artistic master, who, when notified, quickly expelled him from his studio. Henry Monnier's real artistic training came from his frequent visits to Paris print shops where he saw the contemporary work of British satirists, most notably George Cruikshank and Thomas Rowlandson. Henry Monnier, in fact, was living in London as early as 1825 and formed a strong friendship with Cruikshank. Henry Monnier returned to Paris in 1827. During the next three years he produced some of his finest sets of lithographs depicting and satirizing the manners and customs of the period. These include, Equisses parisiennes, Les Grisettes, Moeurs administratives and Voyage en Angleterre. In the early 1830's Henry Monnier contributed political caricatures to Charles Philipon's La Caricature. Although he continued his lithographic art into the 1850's, much of his time was now engaged by another pursuit. In 1831 Henry Monnier made his debut as an actor in La Famille improvisee, a play which he co-authored. Henry Monnier retired from the stage around 1860.

The Golden Age of French satirical art is generally held to be the era from 1830 to 1850. The lithographs published by the Paris journal, "Le Charivari", were at the center. Founded by the artist, writer and editor, Charles Philipon (1804-1862), "Le Charivari" commenced its daily publication in 1832. By means of both its art and commentaries this journal led the attack upon France's political leaders, royalty, priesthood, and any other possibly corrupt individuals and institutions. Artists Philipon commissioned for satirical lithographs included such masters as Daumier, Gavarni and Travies. Many more great artists, however, contributed original lithographs to the publication which today comprise a wonderful resource of French life and humor from this long past age.

Beraldi, Les Graveurs du XIXe siècle, II, p. 169; Grand-Carteret, p.625; Not in Bobins, Marie or Melcher.

Price: $4,500.00