CHAM (pseudonym of Amédée de Noé)

Cours d'Hygiène

Paris: Arnould De Vresse, Editeur, 1850. Item #05355

Lessons in Hygiene as Illustrated by Cham

CHAM (pseudonym of Amédée de Noé). Cours d'Hygiène par Cham. Paris: Arnould De Vresse, Editeur, [1850].

First edition. Folio (13 1/4 x 10 inches; 337 x 254 mm.). Pictorial lithograph title and eighteen fine lithograph plates. Some occasional very light marginal foxing but overall very clean.

Publishers pictorial glazed yellow boards printed in black and gold, spine slightly darkened, minimal soiling to boards, still a near fine example of this exceptionally rare Cham title.

The pictorial title and the front cover depict Hippocrates, the father of modern hygiene. The plates humorously illustrate lessons in hygiene…

With the engraved bookplate of F. Meunie on front pastedown. Over the past twenty years we have handled two other Cham albums from the collection of F. Meunie.

Scarce with OCLC locating just two examples in libraries and institutions worldwide: The Morgan Library and Museum (NY, USA) and The National Art Library, Victoria & Albert museum (London, UK).

In over fifty years of dealing in rare books and handling the same number of books illustrated by Cham I have never seen this title before (DJB).

In the works of Greek physicians, from Hippocrates (460–c. 377 B.C.E.) onward, hygiene was that branch of medicine dedicated to the "art of health".

CHAM (pseudonym of Amédée de Noé) (1818-1879). French caricaturist and lithographer, published his first book Monsieur Lajeunesse in 1839 and from 1843 began to be regularly published in illustrated magazines such as Le Charivari (which in 1835 focused primarily on publishing satires of everyday life), thereafter becoming one of the most popular of French caricaturists through entertaining storybooks such as this work which satirized 'jokes in poor taste.'

Several artists "followed in the wake of Daumier and Gavarni. Among the most attractive of the former is Amédéé de Noé, ”known as Cham (that is, Ham, the son of Noah)…it was said that he had ‘an idea a day’ for Le charivari. A good proportion of his thousands of lithographs were gathered into albums. His contributions to the Album du siège (173), in which Daumier was his collaborator, are typical of his work” (Ray, pp. 155-156).

Cham had contacts with English artists, many of whom had trained on the Continent, most in company with English artist and follower of the pioneering German lithographer Alois Senefelder.

Price: $2,000.00