CHAM (pseudonym of Amédée de Noé)

Actualites

Paris: Arnauld de Vresse & Martinet, 1864. Item #05937

Cham's Most Ambitious Sustained Effort…
Actualités - 116 Hand Colored Lithographs

CHAM (pseudonym of Amédée de Noé). Actualités. A fine collection of one hundred and sixteen hand colored lithograph plates, all heightened with gum arabic. Paris: Arnauld de Vresse & Martinet [1864-1870].

A superb collection of one hundred and sixteen (116) original hand-colored lithographs, each heightened with gum arabic, satirizing the political, social, and cultural life of France during the reign of Napoleon III and the dawn of the Third Republic.

Folio (13 x 9/78 inches; 330 x 250 mm.) printed on fine wove paper. Preserved loose, as issued, without text.

Chemised in a half black morocco over red cloth clamshell case, spine with five raised bands, decoratively ruled and lettered in gilt in compartments.

Cham - the indefatigable caricaturist Amédée de Noé - produced over 40,000 drawings in his career, but the Actualités series (issued in parts throughout the 1860s and early 1870s) remains his most ambitious sustained effort. These plates, rarely encountered in contemporary hand-colored state, brilliantly combine political allegory, fashion satire, social comedy, and fantastical invention. The application of gum arabic provides added brilliance and depth to surfaces such as glassware, metallic armor, feathers, silks, and human expressions.

Comparable to Daumier in invention but with a lighter, more whimsical tone, Cham’s satires range from the boulevards of Paris to the battlefields of Europe, lampooning politicians, dandies, soldiers, and housewives alike. Large groups of Actualités in colored form are of great rarity.

A Complete Annotated Inventory of Plates (1–116) is available upon request
- each plate is listed with original French caption, English translation, and a brief thematic note.

Annotated Inventory – Cham, Actualités

Plate 1. Les actualités. — Enfin les chaleurs commencent.
— The news. — At last the heat begins.
Note: Comic scene of Parisians suffering under the summer sun; satire on the weather obsessions of city life.
Plate 2. Un progrès de la civilisation. — L’ombrelle pour chiens.
— A progress of civilization. — The parasol for dogs.
Note: Satire on bourgeois excesses, showing pampered pets being shaded like aristocrats.
Plate 3. Politique étrangère. — La France et le Mexique.
— Foreign policy. — France and Mexico.
Note: Commentary on Napoleon III’s disastrous Mexican campaign; allegorical figures of France and Mexico.
Plate 4. Les élégances de Paris. — Nouveau chapeau pour dames.
— Parisian elegance. — New ladies’ hat.
Note: Caricature of extravagant women’s fashion, lampooning oversized hats and crinolines.
Plate 5. Actualité militaire. — Toujours prêts!
— Military news. — Always ready!
Note: Mocking French soldiers’ constant drills; humor in exaggerated weaponry and stiff poses.
Plate 6. Les plaisirs d’hiver. — Le patinage à la mode.
— Winter pleasures. — Skating in fashion.
Note: Depicts the Parisian craze for ice-skating; shows fashionable couples more concerned with appearance than skill.
Plate 7. Les omnibus parisiens. — Quelle bousculade!
— Paris omnibuses. — What a crush!
Note: Urban satire of overcrowded public transport; crinolines and top hats colliding inside a carriage.
Plate 8. La guerre de 1866. — La Prusse et l’Autriche se disputant l’Italie.
— The war of 1866. — Prussia and Austria fighting over Italy.
Note: Political cartoon about the Austro-Prussian war; Italy personified as a prize being tugged in opposite directions.
Plate 9. Photographie instantanée. — Le portrait en mouvement.
— Instant photography. — The moving portrait.
Note: Satire of photography’s rise in popularity; comic exaggeration of blurred results.
Plate 10. Un mal nécessaire. — Le percepteur des contributions.
— A necessary evil. — The tax collector.
Note: Traditional caricature of the hated taxman; grotesquely portrayed as an unwelcome guest.
Plate 11. Actualité parisienne. — Les embarras de voitures.
— Paris news. — The traffic jams.
Note: Caricature of Haussmann’s Paris, with elegant carriages and omnibuses locked in chaotic congestion.
Plate 12. Un petit malheur. — Le parapluie perdu.
— A little misfortune. — The lost umbrella.
Note: Everyday humor; the gentleman adrift in the rain without his indispensable umbrella.
Plate 13. L’actualité musicale. — Le piano dans tous les salons.
— Musical news. — The piano in every salon.
Note: Satire on the bourgeois obsession with piano lessons and the noisy spread of amateur music-making.
Plate 14. Les plaisirs de campagne. — Le déjeuner sur l’herbe.
— Country pleasures. — The picnic.
Note: Parody of rustic leisure; exaggerated figures feasting outdoors, with comic mishaps.
Plate 15. L’exposition universelle. — L’affluence des visiteurs.
— The Universal Exhibition. — The crowd of visitors.
Note: Commentary on the massive crowds at the Paris World’s Fairs; shows confusion and jostling at the gates.
Plate 16. La mode d’été. — Robes légères et transparentes.
— Summer fashion. — Light and transparent dresses.
Note: Satirical view of women’s revealing dresses, poking fun at modesty versus display.
Plate 17. Les embellissements de Paris. — Les fontaines nouvelles.
— The embellishments of Paris. — The new fountains.
Note: Humor about Haussmann’s civic improvements; gawkers admiring lavish public fountains.
Plate 18. Actualité de la chasse. — Le gibier rare.
— Hunting news. — The rare game.
Note: Comic rural hunting scene; hunters proudly displaying ridiculous or unimpressive catches.
Plate 19. Le progrès des sciences. — La machine à parler.
— Progress in science. — The talking machine.
Note: Satire on new inventions; proto-phonograph device humorously misfiring.
Plate 20. Les bals masqués. — Quelle méprise!
— Masked balls. — What a mistake!
Note: Social satire of mistaken identity at costume balls; a common theme in Cham’s humor.
Plate 21. La guerre future. — Les aérostats militaires.
— The future war. — Military balloons.
Note: Fantastical vision of aerial warfare; anticipates both science fiction and future military innovations.
Plate 22. Actualité mondaine. — Les visites du jour de l’an.
— Society news. — New Year’s visits.
Note: Satire of endless social calls required at New Year; exhausted visitors and hosts alike.
Plate 23. Un petit scandale. — La loge indiscrète.
— A little scandal. — The indiscreet theater box.
Note: Caricature of flirtations and impropriety observed at the opera.
Plate 24. Les bains de mer. — Nouvelle distraction de la mode.
— Sea bathing. — A new fashionable diversion.
Note: Parisian society at the seaside; awkward swimsuits and seaside follies lampooned.
Plate 25. Politique intérieure. — Le budget avalé.
— Domestic politics. — The swallowed budget.
Note: Allegory of the state devouring taxes; ministers pictured literally gobbling up public funds.
Plate 26. La photographie en plein air. — Portrait de famille.
— Outdoor photography. — Family portrait.
Note: Humor on the stiff, chaotic poses of families attempting photographs in public parks.
Plate 27. L’actualité culinaire. — Les huîtres de la saison.
— Culinary news. — The oysters of the season.
Note: Satire of Parisian gourmands; a dandy overeats oysters to comic excess.
Plate 28. La mode exagérée. — Crinolines impossibles.
— Exaggerated fashion. — Impossible crinolines.
Note: Caricature of giant hoop skirts blocking doorways and omnibuses.
Plate 29. La chasse aux canards. — Un coup manqué.
— Duck hunting. — A missed shot.
Note: Humorous sporting failure; sportsmen fire in vain while ducks escape.
Plate 30. Politique européenne. — La Pologne sacrifiée.
— European politics. — Poland sacrificed.
Note: Allegorical satire on the partitions and abandonment of Poland by European powers.
Plate 31. Les joies du carnaval. — La bataille de confetti.
— The joys of carnival. — The confetti battle.
Note: Parody of carnival festivities, with an explosion of paper, masks, and chaos.
Plate 32. Un accident parisien. — La cheminée qui tombe.
— A Paris accident. — The falling chimney.
Note: Social humor; pedestrians flee from falling masonry in a crowded street.
Plate 33. La pêche miraculeuse. — Rien que des bottes.
— The miraculous catch. — Nothing but boots.
Note: Satire of amateur fishermen; pulling up rubbish instead of fish.
Plate 34. La toilette de bal. — Les corsets nouveaux.
— The ball dress. — The new corsets.
Note: Fashion caricature; women squeezed to absurd proportions by corsetry.
Plate 35. Actualité dramatique. — La tragédie au boulevard.
— Dramatic news. — Tragedy on the boulevard.
Note: Comic melodrama of fainting women and exaggerated gestures, parodying boulevard theater.
Plate 36. Le progrès des transports. — Le chemin de fer sous-marin.
— Progress in transport. — The submarine railway.
Note: Fantastical satire; fish peering into a train carriage beneath the sea.
Plate 37. L’actualité domestique. — Le chat gourmand.
— Domestic news. — The greedy cat.
Note: Comic household scene; pets stealing food from the table.
Plate 38. Politique italienne. — Rome toujours attendue.
— Italian politics. — Rome always awaited.
Note: Allusion to the unresolved “Roman Question” and Italian unification struggles.
Plate 39. Les élégances d’hiver. — Les fourrures nouvelles.
— Winter elegance. — The new furs.
Note: Satire of ladies in enormous fur wraps, exaggerating luxury.
Plate 40. Les fiacres de Paris. — Voyage mouvementé.
— Paris cabs. — A bumpy ride.
Note: Comic mishap of passengers being jolted violently in horse-drawn cabs.
Plate 41. La guerre des sexes. — Les femmes triomphantes.
— The war of the sexes. — Triumphant women.
Note: Gender satire; women depicted overpowering their husbands or suitors.
Plate 42. Actualité champêtre. — La moisson abondante.
— Rural news. — The abundant harvest.
Note: Rustic humor; peasants overloaded with giant sheaves of wheat.
Plate 43. Les bains publics. — La pudeur compromise.
— Public baths. — Modesty compromised.
Note: Gentle satire of bathhouses, nudity, and awkward social mixing.
Plate 44. La photographie d’art. — La pose difficile.
— Art photography. — The difficult pose.
Note: Humor about stiff, unnatural posing required for long exposure times.
Plate 45. Politique prussienne. — Le casque à pointe envahissant.
— Prussian politics. — The invading spiked helmet.
Note: Allusion to Prussia’s militarism and looming threat in Europe.
Plate 46. Actualité financière. — Le spéculateur ruiné.
— Financial news. — The ruined speculator.
Note: Commentary on stock market speculation and sudden bankruptcies.
Plate 47. Les modes extravagantes. — Les paniers gigantesques.
— Extravagant fashions. — Gigantic panniers.
Note: Satire of revived 18th-century-style hoops, blocking entire staircases.
Plate 48. Les journaux du matin. — L’abonné impatient.
— Morning newspapers. — The impatient subscriber.
Note: A bourgeois anxiously waiting for his paper; lampoon of media obsession.
Plate 49. Les inondations. — Paris sous l’eau.
— The floods. — Paris under water.
Note: Satirical exaggeration of floods, with citizens floating in bathtubs or boats.
Plate 50. Politique espagnole. — Toujours des révolutions.
— Spanish politics. — Always revolutions.
Note: Allusion to chronic unrest in Spain, with revolts and changes of regime caricatured.
Plate 51. La guerre en Orient. — Le Turc et le Russe face à face.
— War in the East. — The Turk and the Russian face to face.
Note: Satire of Russo-Turkish tensions, often staged as dueling caricature figures.
Plate 52. Les omnibus à impériale. — Les places convoitées.
— Double-decker omnibuses. — The coveted seats.
Note: Humor on passengers scrambling for seats on the upper deck.
Plate 53. La chasse aux mouches. — Inutile précaution.
— Fly hunting. — A useless precaution.
Note: Domestic humor; clumsy attempts to swat flies, exaggerated into chaos.
Plate 54. Politique française. — Les orateurs à la tribune.
— French politics. — The speakers at the tribune.
Note: Ridicule of parliamentary debates, with deputies gesturing wildly.
Plate 55. Les pêcheurs du dimanche. — Toujours bredouilles.
— Sunday fishermen. — Always empty-handed.
Note: Gentle mockery of amateur fishermen returning without a catch.
Plate 56. Les élégances de bal. — La valse effrénée.
— Ballroom elegance. — The frantic waltz.
Note: Caricature of fashionable dancing, couples whirling to absurd extremes.
Plate 57. Politique autrichienne. — Le double aigle embarrassé.
— Austrian politics. — The embarrassed double eagle.
Note: Satire of Austria’s weakness and confusion in European affairs.
Plate 58. Le progrès militaire. — Les canons monstrueux.
— Military progress. — The monstrous cannons.
Note: Exaggerated giant artillery; commentary on the escalating arms race.
Plate 59. Les théâtres du boulevard. — Une scène larmoyante.
— Boulevard theaters. — A tearful scene.
Note: Satire of sentimental stage melodramas, with over-acted weeping.
Plate 60. Les chapeaux de printemps. — Une pyramide ambulante.
— Spring hats. — A walking pyramid.
Note: Comic exaggeration of towering women’s hats.
Plate 61. Actualité nautique. — Le canotage à la mode.
— Nautical news. — Rowing in fashion.
Note: Parisian society indulging in boating, often with comic mishaps.
Plate 62. Politique allemande. — L’unité impossible.
— German politics. — Unity impossible.
Note: Satire on the fragmented German states before unification.
Plate 63. Les chiens savants. — Spectacle nouveau.
— Trained dogs. — A new show.
Note: Humor on performing animals, parody of circus spectacles.
Plate 64. Les modes d’hiver. — Manches exagérées.
— Winter fashions. — Exaggerated sleeves.
Note: Fashion satire; sleeves so large they obstruct doorways.
Plate 65. La poste aux lettres. — Toujours en retard.
— The postal service. — Always late.
Note: Complaint about unreliable mail delivery, with citizens waiting impatiently.
Plate 66. Politique belge. — Le petit royaume menacé.
— Belgian politics. — The little kingdom threatened.
Note: Satire on Belgium caught between powerful neighbors.
Plate 67. Les photographes de campagne. — L’âne indiscret.
— Country photographers. — The indiscreet donkey.
Note: Comic intrusion of animals into rural photographic sessions.
Plate 68. Les loteries. — Le gros lot rêvé.
— Lotteries. — Dreaming of the jackpot.
Note: Satire on gambling and unrealistic expectations of sudden wealth.
Plate 69. La mode des bottines. — Les pieds minuscules.
— The fashion of boots. — Tiny feet.
Note: Exaggeration of ladies’ shoes, shrinking feet to absurd proportions.
Plate 70. Politique suisse. — Toujours neutre.
— Swiss politics. — Always neutral.
Note: Humor about Switzerland’s perpetual neutrality, portrayed as cautious passivity.
Plate 71. Les catastrophes de chemin de fer. — Le wagon culbuté.
— Railway disasters. — The overturned carriage.
Note: Commentary on frequent railway accidents of the era.
Plate 72. Les mariages arrangés. — La dot avant tout.
— Arranged marriages. — The dowry before all.
Note: Social satire on mercenary marriages, with grotesquely mismatched couples.
Plate 73. La guerre future. — Les cuirassés volants.
— The future war. — Flying ironclads.
Note: Fantastical vision of airborne warships; parody of military invention.
Plate 74. Les excentricités de Paris. — Le promeneur masqué.
— Paris eccentricities. — The masked stroller.
Note: Humor on fashionable oddities; a man walking the boulevards in disguise.
Plate 75. Politique anglaise. — Toujours pragmatique.
— English politics. — Always pragmatic.
Note: Caricature of Britain as practical and calculating, contrasted with continental turmoil.
Plate 76. Les modes extravagantes. — Les traînes interminables.
— Extravagant fashions. — Endless trains.
Note: Satire of impractically long gown trains sweeping the streets.
Plate 77. Politique russe. — L’ours toujours menaçant.
— Russian politics. — The ever-threatening bear.
Note: Symbolic cartoon of Russia’s power, shown as a hulking bear.
Plate 78. Les bains de vapeur. — La sudation universelle.
— Steam baths. — Universal perspiration.
Note: Gentle parody of spa culture and sweating rooms.
Plate 79. Les journaux illustrés. — Les gravures ressemblantes?
— Illustrated newspapers. — Resembling engravings?
Note: Satire on crude likenesses in the press.
Plate 80. La guerre de l’avenir. — Les soldats mécaniques.
— The war of the future. — Mechanical soldiers.
Note: Proto-science fiction; caricature of automaton troops.
Plate 81. Politique italienne. — Garibaldi impatient.
— Italian politics. — Garibaldi impatient.
Note: Caricature of Garibaldi waiting for unity, depicted restlessly.
Plate 82. Les expositions de peinture. — Le tableau incompris.
— Art exhibitions. — The misunderstood painting.
Note: Comic reactions of the public to modern art.
Plate 83. Les élégances de ville. — Le monocle général.
— City elegance. — The universal monocle.
Note: Satire of dandies and their fashionable monocles.
Plate 84. La guerre maritime. — Les torpilles nouvelles.
— Naval war. — The new torpedoes.
Note: Exaggerated inventions in naval warfare.
Plate 85. Les modes enfantines. — Les poupées vivantes.
— Children’s fashions. — Living dolls.
Note: Children dressed in absurdly adult styles.
Plate 86. Politique espagnole. — Toujours des pronunciamientos.
— Spanish politics. — Always pronunciamientos.
Note: Commentary on Spain’s frequent military coups.
Plate 87. Les amateurs de curiosités. — La collection encombrante.
— Collectors of curiosities. — The cumbersome collection.
Note: Lampoon of obsessive collecting, cabinets overflowing with oddities.
Plate 88. La guerre future. — Les canons volants.
— Future war. — Flying cannons.
Note: Fantastical satire of airborne artillery.
Plate 89. Les modes d’hiver. — Les bonnets astronomiques.
— Winter fashions. — Astronomical bonnets.
Note: Giant headwear likened to celestial globes.
Plate 90. Politique française. — Le budget en équilibre.
— French politics. — The balanced budget.
Note: Irony on the impossibility of balancing state finances.
Plate 91. Les excentricités de la science. — L’homme volant.
— Scientific eccentricities. — The flying man.
Note: Parody of early aviation experiments.
Plate 92. Les élégances champêtres. — Les ombrelles en fleurs.
— Rural elegance. — Parasols of flowers.
Note: Fanciful fashion plates turned comic.
Plate 93. Politique prussienne. — Le casque à pointe triomphant.
— Prussian politics. — The triumphant spiked helmet.
Note: Symbolic of Prussia’s victories in the late 1860s.
Plate 94. Les amateurs de pêche. — Toujours la même histoire.
— Fishing enthusiasts. — Always the same story.
Note: Fishermen exaggerating their catch.
Plate 95. Les élégances du bal. — Les plumes interminables.
— Ballroom elegance. — Endless feathers.
Note: Mockery of plumed headpieces colliding in the ballroom.
Plate 96. Politique anglaise. — Le lion flegmatique.
— English politics. — The phlegmatic lion.
Note: Britain personified as calm and calculating.
Plate 97. La guerre future. — Les fusées intelligentes.
— Future war. — Intelligent rockets.
Note: Satirical anticipation of guided missiles.
Plate 98. Les promenades au bois. — Les élégances en voiture.
— Walks in the Bois. — Elegant carriages.
Note: Satire of the fashionable promenade at the Bois de Boulogne.
Plate 99. Politique autrichienne. — L’aigle à deux têtes affamé.
— Austrian politics. — The hungry double-headed eagle.
Note: Austria depicted as weakened and needy.
Plate 100. Les élégances de théâtre. — Les lorgnettes indiscrètes.
— Theater elegance. — Indiscreet opera glasses.
Note: Comic intrusion of spying spectators.
Plate 101. Les modes d’été. — Les robes ballons.
— Summer fashions. — Balloon dresses.
Note: Crinolines rendered as literal balloons floating upward.
Plate 102. Politique belge. — Le petit royaume entre géants.
— Belgian politics. — The little kingdom among giants.
Note: Belgium squeezed between Prussia and France.
Plate 103. Les nouvelles inventions. — La machine à laver automatique.
— New inventions. — The automatic washing machine.
Note: Satirical exaggeration of mechanical household devices.
Plate 104. Les modes excentriques. — Les coiffures pyramides.
— Eccentric fashions. — Pyramid hairstyles.
Note: Hair piled absurdly high.
Plate 105. Politique française. — Le peuple et les impôts.
— French politics. — The people and the taxes.
Note: Grotesque allegory of taxpayers crushed under burdens.
Plate 106. Les sports modernes. — Le vélocipède triomphant.
— Modern sports. — The triumphant velocipede.
Note: Early cycling craze mocked.
Plate 107. Politique suisse. — Toujours entre deux chaises.
— Swiss politics. — Always between two chairs.
Note: Satire on neutrality and indecision.
Plate 108. Les élégances nouvelles. — Le chapeau parapluie.
— New elegance. — The umbrella-hat.
Note: Fanciful hybrid fashion accessory.
Plate 109. La guerre future. — Les soldats sous-marins.
— Future war. — Submarine soldiers.
Note: Imaginary underwater infantry.
Plate 110. Politique italienne. — Rome encore promise.
— Italian politics. — Rome again promised.
Note: Delay of Rome’s incorporation into Italy.
Plate 111. Les élégances parisiennes. — Le chien bijou.
— Parisian elegance. — The jewel-dog.
Note: Fashionable women carrying jewel-bedecked pets.
Plate 112. Les inventions nouvelles. — Le lit automatique.
— New inventions. — The automatic bed.
Note: Parody of “labor-saving” contraptions.
Plate 113. Politique européenne. — Le congrès confus.
— European politics. — The confused congress.
Note: Delegates at a European congress portrayed in disarray.
Plate 114. Les modes extravagantes. — Les jupons volants.
— Extravagant fashions. — Flying petticoats.
Note: Satire of undergarments turned into absurd balloons.
Plate 115. Les catastrophes parisiennes. — La maison qui s’écroule.
— Paris disasters. — The collapsing house.
Note: Humor on urban accidents during Haussmann’s works.
Plate 116. La guerre future. — Le globe terrestre fortifié.
— Future war. — The fortified globe.
Note: Finale vision of Earth itself as a fortress; ultimate parody of militarism.

Price: $8,500.00