Bidspirit auction | Issues of the French magazine
Issues of the French magazine ”Le Rire” – Dreyfus Affair - Five issues of the French magazine Le Rire – “The Laugh” – antisemitic covers. Four of the issues were published at the height of the Dreyfus Affair and feature caricatures mocking Émile Zola, Dreyfus supporters, and Jews. Issues: August 12, 1899 May 28, 1898 March 3, 1898 December 18, 1897 January 8, 1916 – depicting a rider on horseback atop the “Three Kings, ” whose head is drawn as a Jew with a long nose and beard. The French humor magazine Le Rire began publication in October 1894. The magazine regularly featured illustrations by leading French artists on the front and back covers, as well as in the center pages. Among its illustrators were Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Georges Goursat, Lucien Metivet, Jean-Louis Forain, Adolphe Willette, Joaquín Xaudaró, and others. Throughout the Dreyfus Affair, the magazine supported the military and establishment's position and leaned toward antisemitism. Likewise, during the 1930s, the magazine adopted an antisemitic tone—at times overt and at times implicit—portraying Jews as wealthy individuals profiting at the expense of French citizens. Complete issues. Good condition.