Illustrated Periodicals Part 2: French, German, and American Publications

Many publications were established in France during the time of Louis Philippe, when the country was experiencing a period of relatively light censorship. Charles Philipon is credited with creating a few papers, published in 1830, La Caricature the most prominent of them. La Caricature printed such artists as Daumer and Grandville, and would often attack the Louis Philippe through caricature.

This piece above is by Joseph Traveis. Artists in La Caricature often morphed Louis Philippe's head into a pear, it became the symbol for an overindulgent king. The above image actually got La Caricature into some legal trouble. While defending himself in court, Charles Philipon drew the below image, morphing Louis Philippe's head into a pear.

 

Another note worthy European publication is Simplicissimus, a German publication with Art Nouveau influences. 

 

First published in Munich in 1896, the periodical commented on aspects of German society and government that were disliked. Especially "boorish," upper-class military officers in the beginning.

In America, Harper's Weekly was the first illustrated periodical to really establish itself in the satirical realm. Established in 1857, the magazine would feature the cartoons of the previously mentioned Thomas Nast, including the ones that attacked Boss Tweed.

 

Similar to Harper's Weekly was Puck magazine. Like Harper's Weekly, Puck contained political satire, often involving Tammany Hall. Created in Germany years earlier and then brought into America by Joseph Keppler in 1876, Puck used lithographic printing, allowing for some of the images to be in color. Leading to the publication's success.

Image 1: La Caricature cover,19 June, 1886
Image 2: Cartoon by Joseph Traveis
Image 3: Cartoon by Charles Philipon
Image 4: Simlicissimus cover
Image 5: Cartoon from Simplicissimus
Image 6: Harper's Weekly cover
Image 7: Harper's Weekly cover
Image 8: Puck cover

The Rise of Illustrated Periodicals and English Publications

 
Illustrated periodicals began to become more prevalent around the 1830s. A rise in printing technology partially explains this phenomenon, but more important are the improvements in paper making technology. In the previous century, paper had been a somewhat luxury item, but new steam-driven paper making machines were able to produce a cheaper paper, making it more economically feasible to create publications. In England some of earliest successful publications were Charles Knight's The Penny Magazine and Thomas McClean's The Monthly Sheet of Caricatures.

Punch is by far the most successful illustrated publication to come out in this time. Established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew, Punch father the phrase "cartoon" in reference to satirical prints. Punch appealed to middle class humor, often criticizing the royal family. The images were often bold, striking and savagely critical. In the late 1800s, Punch experienced its richest time while featuring the works of John Tenniel and Harry Furniss.

The next periodical to give Punch any competition is Vanity Fair, established in 1868.

The magazine used colored lithography to create "anti-portraits" that people would hang in their homes. Two prominent artists from Vanity Fair were Carlos Pellegrini and Leslie Ward who would sign their work with the psuedonames "Ape" and "Spy."

Image 1: Cover of Thomas McClean's The Monthly Sheet of Caricatures

Image 2: Cover of Henry Mayhew's Punch

Image 3: Cartoon by John Tenniel

Image 4: Cartoon by Harry Furniss

Image 5:  Darwin caricature from Vanity Fair 

Image 6:  Cartoon by "Ape" (Carlos Pellegrini)

Image 7: Cartoon by "Spy" (Leslie Ward)

American Caricature and Thomas Nast

 

The 19th century also saw a flood a caricature in America. Andrew Jackson was a popular figure to satirize because of his forthright personality and tendency to not hide from controversy. African Americans were a popular topic with the approaching civil war in 1861. Other topics that were popular in this century were Mormons and women. The 19th Amendment will be passed in 1920, allowing equal voting rights for women, and the century before, women's rights were a hot topic that satirists often approached.

Thomas Nast is probably the most prominent caricaturist in this time, he is even possibly responsible for inventing the elephant and the donkey as representative for the Republican and Democratic parties. 1862 Nast began producing representational, political cartoons for Harper’s Weekly. It was in this publication that he created caricatures of William Magear “Boss” Tweed and the rest of the grafters of Tammany Hall, the corrupt Democratic organization in New York City. These cartoons were highly influential because most of New York's population was still illiterate.

 Image 1: Thomas Nast caricature of Andrew Jackson
Image 2:  Thomas Nast, "The Tammany Ring-dom"
Image 3: Cover of Harper's Weekly, Thomas Nast, "The Only Thing They Respect of Fear"

Francisco Goya

Fracisco Goya is probably the most notable Spanish satirist. He often worked in lithography and was called the master in aquatint. "Caprichos," meaning "caprice," was his first set of satirical prints, and 80 page album created in 1799 and sold in perform shops. This set commented on Spanish society. The image above comes from "Capricho," and is an older witch teaching a younger one how to ride a broom. It is a comment on older generations passing on their bad habits to younger generations. Goya would go on to release other sets of prints, among them is "Disasters of War" (see image below.) This set had three main themes: the violence of war with France, famine in Spain, and allegorical scenes involving the reign of King Ferdinand VII and the clergy. "Disasters of War" was much darker and far more upsetting.

Honore Daumier

During France's dominance in caricature, Daumier was most likely the top artist. He was incredibly successful, producing more then 4000 prints. Often Daumier would attack Louis Philippe in his drawings. Below is the Gargantua, one of two prints that caused Daumier to be imprisoned for six months. This only caused his caricatures to only become more popular.

Introduction to French Caricature

In the beginning the the 19th Century English satire began to wane, making way for French caricature to begin to dominate. This coincides with the invention of lithographic printing, invented in 1798 by Alois Senefelder, the favored medium of French illustrators. During this period, France experienced varying levels of censorship from whatever regime was in charge, dictating shifts in subject matter. Under the "Acien Regime" caricature was purely social, while Napoleon wanted artists to create works that supported his policies. In 1830, France experienced a relative freedom of speech under the rule of Louis Philippe. This is the time that famous French caricaturists such as Honore Daumier flourished. Above is a print from another artist to become successful at this time, J.J. Grandville, noted for his zoomorphism.

James Gillray

James Gillray was another caricaturist to achieve great success during the end of the 1700s in England. During the anticipation for a release of Gillray's newest print, an observer commented “the enthusiasm is indescribable when the next drawings appears; it is a veritable madness. You have to make your way in through the crowd with your fists…" His cartoons were more political in nature. The image above features the Prince of Wales, the Queen and George III and is criticizing the way the King and Queen were "devouring" the money of the nation to supporting the Prince's affairs.

Image 1: James Gillray, "Monstrous Craws"
Image 2: James Gillray, "The Visit to Piccadilly (or A Prussian Reception)"