CARICATURES. COMMUNE DE PARIS. IIIe RÉPUBLIQUE. AMATEUR ALBU - Lot 161

CARICATURES. COMMUNE DE PARIS. IIIe RÉPUBLIQUE. AMATEUR ALBUM. POLITICAL SATIRE. [Communardiana. 1871]. Collection of caricatures. Fawn half-chagrin with small green vellum corners, spine ribbed, gilt title, vellum paper boards. An impressive and rare amateur collection of 388 original caricatures and lithographs dated 1871, devoted to the political and social upheavals of the Paris Commune and the fall of the Second Empire. Printed in black, sometimes in color or with color additions. Various formats, ca in-4 or small in-folio. Some marginal handwritten annotations by the same hand. Such composite albums, assembled by enlightened amateurs in the aftermath of events, are rare. They bear witness to the visual and popular reception of the Commune, and are invaluable today for iconographic and historical research. Good overall condition for a set of this nature. Brings together anti-imperial caricatures (against Badinguet/Napoléon III), satires against the Communards and the fledgling Third Republic, some enhanced with gouache, in vivid colors - notably the Musée satirique series by Victor Coindre, which is uncommon - from emblematic periodicals of the period: Les Résultats by Chouquet (7 plates); Portraits charges de la Commune by Klenek; Les Marrons sculptés (20 plates); Agonie de la Commune; Les Nouveaux impôts (2 plates); Paris Garde Nationale-Souvenir des deux sièges (4 plates), les Automédons... And many other iconic names in caricature: Stick, Faustin, de la Tremblais, Barn, Fréville, Moloch, Xiat, as well as plates published in L'Éclipse (Rue du Croissant) and by Cham. An exceptional documentary set, at once a collector's work and a political mirror, offering a plunge into the visual imaginary of post-Communard France, an exceptional visual and satirical testimony between propaganda and popular mockery. Binding lightly rubbed, inner jaws stressed. Browning on the first set of engravings, but a good copy.