Tag: Satirical Press

La Lune et L’Éclipse

Posted on by Claude Potts

La Lune
Gill, André, and François Polo. La Lune. Paris: [s.n.], 1865. Bancroft (NRLF) ; f AP20 .L8
The short-lived but complete run of the popular French satirical weekly journal La Lune: paraissant toutes les nouvelles lunes (1865-1868) was acquired by the UC Berkeley Library just a few years ago along with its successor L’Éclipse: journal hebdomadaire (1868-1876). Both were founded and edited by François Polo with André Gill as the chief caricaturist. The illustrations depict not only daring attacks on politicians and political affairs during the Second Empire, but they also offer an unusual insight into the dynamic cultural life of nineteenth century Paris. Artists, singers and writers were equally portrayed. Other major contributors included amongst others Cham, Pépin, Demare and Léonce Petit. La Lune abruptly ceased publication in 1868 after Polo was fined and briefly jailed for having published a caricature depicting Napoléon III as the literary character Rocambole in December 1867.

Eight days after the fnal issue of La Lune was published, Polo launched the weekly L’Eclipse to replace it which long outlasted the Prussian siege of Paris in 1870-1871 and into the beginning of the Third Republic. While still harassed by government censors, the inexpensive four-page weekly magazine with signature colorful wood engravings on the cover resisted and circulated freely.

Both of the originals can be viewed in print in The Bancroft Library or online through the Bibliothèque nationale de France’s digital platform Gallica.

L'Éclipse
L’Éclipse (Paris, France). Paris: [publisher not identified], 1868. Bancroft (NRLF) ; f AP20 .E35

Charivari digitized by UCB

Posted on by Claude Potts
Charivari: Humoristica illustrado. Porto: Imprensa Civilisação, 1886-1889? Bancroft f AP111 .C5
Charivari: Semanario Humoristica illustrado. Porto: Imprensa Civilisação, 1886-1889.

In the 19th century and owing to advances in printing technologies, illustrated journals proliferated. The satirical press was among the most graphic and visual engaging genres with their bold caricatures and humorous editorial cartoons. Though difficult to track down in our library’s discovery systems unless you know an exact title, the UC Berkeley Library has a rich collection of these published in Europe and the Americas. Charivari is a weekly from Portugal whose name was probably inspired by the Parisian weekly Le Charivari (1832 to 1937) with the same name. It was published in Porto towards the end of the decade by two illustrators José de Almeida and Joaquim Maria Pinto Silva and provides a critical perspective on the political, economic and cultural reality of Portugal and the world in general. We recently digitized our copy of Charivari and all issues are available through the HathiTrust.

If you like the work in this publication, you’ll enjoy the work of their contemporary Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro too. He is considered Portugal’s greatest caricaturist, and directed several other satirical magazines such as Almanach de caricaturas para ..., O Antonio Maria, and Parodia that have been digitized by the National Library of Portugal and are also held in print in The Bancroft Library.