E-MailLe charivari – digitized
In the issues of the 8th and 29th November 1832 the journal La Caricature Charles Philipon (1800-1861) announced his plans for publishing a new satirical periodical called Le Charivari. On 1st December 1832, after printing several proof copies, the first edition of this journal was supplied. In contrast to the weekly periodical La Caricature the new journal, also edited by Philipon, was published daily and focused less on political than social and cultural events. These topics were chosen on purpose to address a wider audience, to avoid censorship and to ensure economical success. The profits made from Le Charivari were supposed to balance losses made by La Caricature and to ensure its survival.
Le Charivari contained three pages of text and one full-page caricature. During the Franco-Prussian War it was shortened to only two pages. The journal was published until August 1937, making it one of the longest running and most successful publications of its kind.
Among the caricaturists for Le Charivari are well-known artists such as: Honoré Daumier, Charle Traviès de Villers, Grandville, Paul Gavarni, Benjamin, Alcide Joseph Lorentz and many others.
Additionally, from 1860 to around 1900 the Almanach du Charivari was published once a year in 41 volumes, containing mainly non-political, lighthearted caricatures, cartoons and jokes.
Further Reading
- Bellanger, Claude [Ed.]: Histoire générale de la presse française, 2. Band, Paris 1969
- Blum, André: La Caricature politique dans la monarchie de Juillet, in: Gazette des Beaux Arts 62.1920, S. 257-277.
- Gardes, Jean-Claude [Hrsg.]: Les revues satiriques françaises, Brest 2011
- Max, Hubert: Die Satire in der französischen Publizistik unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des französischen Witzblattes. Die Entwicklung von den Anfängen bis zum Jahre 1880, München 1937 [Zeitung und Leben, Band VII]
- Koch, Ursula E. [u.a.]: Le Charivari. die Geschichte einer Pariser Tageszeitung im Kampf um die Republik (1832 - 1882) ; ein Dokument zum deutsch-französischen Verhältnis, Köln 1994
- Kerr, David S.: Caricature and French Political Culture 1830-1848. Charles Philipon and the Illustrated Press, London 2000
- Münch, Roger [Hrsg.]: Daumier und sein Paris. Kunst und Technik einer Metropole, Heidelberg / Berlin 2010
- Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München: Monsieur Daumier, Ihre Serie ist reizvoll!, Berlin / München 2012
