DAUMIER, Honoré

Robert Macaire Boursier. Caricaturana no. 29

Paris: N.p., 1895. Item #06067

A Unique Daumier Survival: Robert Macaire Boursier Issued as a Belle Époque Jig-Saw Puzzle Preserved in the Original Delvaux Paris Box

DAUMIER, Honoré. Robert Macaire Boursier. Caricaturana no. 29. [Jig-Saw Puzzle]. N.p. [Paris], n.d. (circa 1895–1915).

Folio (12 1/2 × 9 7/8 inches; 317 × 251 mm). Approximately eighty interlocking pieces. Finely colored print mounted on laminated wood (approximately 1.5–3 mm thick), precision-cut to form a complete jig-saw puzzle.

Housed in the original Delvaux Paris box, patterned and lettered “Delvaux,” with retail address at 18 Rue Royale–Opéra, Paris.

An extraordinarily rare and apparently unrecorded adaptation of Daumier’s most celebrated satirical image, transforming Robert Macaire Boursier - the archetypal financier-swindler of the July Monarchy - into a luxury Belle Époque leisure object.

While Daumier’s Robert Macaire series is well documented in lithographic form, no jig-saw or puzzle versions appear in the standard Daumier bibliographies. The quality of production, chromolithographic coloring, and machine-cut interlocking pieces place the object firmly in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, and suggest a sophisticated adult audience rather than a child’s toy.

The association with Delvaux, one of Europe’s oldest luxury houses, is especially notable and points to a Parisian market for refined satirical amusements sold alongside high-end travel and novelty goods. The survival of the original Delvaux box is exceptional and may be unique in the Daumier field. The puzzle survives substantially complete, with the image fully legible when assembled.

A remarkable cross-category survival at the intersection of caricature, material culture, and luxury retail history, and among the most unusual Daumier objects to appear on the market.

Price: $2,250.00