Bidspirit auction | ”The Laughing Jew” - Early

”The Laughing Jew” - Early Collection of Cartoons by Arthur Szyk. Paris, 1926 - Le Juif Qui rit, Légendes Anciennes et Nouvelles (The Laughing Jew: Old and New Tales), edited by Curnonsky and J.-W. Bienstock, with an introduction by M. Anatole de Monzie. Published by Éditions Albin Michel, Paris, [1926]. French. A substantial collection of Jewish humor, anecdotes, jokes, and folklore from Europe during the interwar period, arranged thematically to encompass every aspect of Jewish life, and illustrated by Arthur Szyk. The illustrations are accompanied by brief captions and humorous commentaries. A rare publication from Szyk's early creative period. The texts and jokes were collected, edited, and adapted into French by the celebrated journalist and author Maurice Edmond Sailland (better known by his pen name Curnonsky, the famed ”Prince of Gastronomy”), together with Jean-William Bienstock, a prominent Russian-Jewish translator active in France at the time. For this volume, the renowned Polish-Jewish artist and caricaturist Arthur Szyk created a series of drawings and cartoons to accompany the entertaining text. Szyk, who would later achieve international acclaim for his intricate illustrations, his magnificent Passover Haggadot, and his powerful anti-fascist propaganda art of the Second World War, is presented here at a comparatively early stage of his career, when he was living and working in Paris and his distinctive graphic style was still evolving. Szyk's illustrations portray characteristic Jewish figures from the traditional world of Eastern European Jewry and communal life. Executed in an expressive and witty graphic style, they capture the subtle nuances of the personalities that populate the Jewish world. Through deliberate physical exaggeration and dramatic facial expressions, Szyk achieves a comic effect while remaining deeply rooted in the culture and idiom from which these characters emerged. The project reflects a profound appreciation for the vitality, wit, and resilience of the Jewish people, expressed through their ability to laugh at themselves and at the hardships of everyday life. A proud Zionist who remained deeply engaged with Jewish causes throughout his life, Arthur Szyk regarded these illustrations as a means of preserving and celebrating the rich cultural heritage of European Jewry. An early and rare example of French humorous literature featuring the early graphic work of one of the greatest Jewish illustrators of the twentieth century. 221, [1] pages. 19 cm. Minor tears to the spine and the edges of the wrappers. Good condition.