1903-1904 A Collection of Twenty-Two Issues from 'L'Assiette au Beurre' Bound Together

Description

Colour Plates, First Edition, Illustrated

First edition. 

Comprising issues No. 93 - No. 95, No. 110 - 117, No. 121 - 123, No. 144 - 148, No. 153 & No. 157 - No. 158, spanning 3 January 1903 - 9 April 1904. 

Twenty-two issues in total bound into one volume, with contemporary cloth boards. Front board and backstrip are detached, but present. Retaining the original front and rear covers. Could largely benefit from a sympathetic rebind.

L'Assiette au Beurre (The Butter Plate) was an illustrated French weekly satirical magazine chiefly produced between 1901-1912 and characterised by its caricature content drawn from a variety of illustrator contributors, often focusing on socialist and anarchist ideas. The time of its founding saw France in a divisive state on issues such as the military, revanchism, separation of church and sate and radical political and social ideas.

The magazine also serves as an important iconographic testament of the Belle Epoque period in France, marked by optimism, peace at home and new technology and scientific discoveries. 

Each issue contains a series of panels from a single artist in their distinct style, the result of which is a striking and varied collection when bound together. 

Examples of issues include: 'Les Anglais Chez Nous' by 'Sancha', 'Les Cabots' by 'Camara', 'Journalists' by 'Poulbot' and 'L'Affaire Humbert Magistrats!' by A. Willette (the notorious 19th-century French swindle where the Humbert family defrauded people using an imaginary inheritance).