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Le Pif Impérial

Print
1870-1871 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Le Petit, Alfred (caricaturist)
Place of origin
Paris (printed)

Satirical print depicting a boy, symbolizing the French Republic, cocking a snook at Napoleon III. Fungi, in the form of Louis Veuillot and Eugène Schneider, sprout from Napoleon's enormous nose, on which are scribbled caricatures of the Imperial family. Print from a set of caricatures, broadsheets and illustrations in ten volumes. Each volume is half-bound in red leather, gold tooled and stamped with imperial emblems, title etc.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Caricatures & Cartoons
Object type
Print
TitleLe Pif Impérial (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Hand-coloured process engraving on paper
Paper
Hand-Colouring
Process Engraving
Brief description
'Le Pif Impérial'. Satirical illustration by Alfred le Petit showing a young boy cocking a snook at Napoleon III and his exaggerated nose. Hand-coloured process engraving, France, 1870-1871.
Physical description
Satirical print depicting a boy, symbolizing the French Republic, cocking a snook at Napoleon III. Fungi, in the form of Louis Veuillot and Eugène Schneider, sprout from Napoleon's enormous nose, on which are scribbled caricatures of the Imperial family. Print from a set of caricatures, broadsheets and illustrations in ten volumes. Each volume is half-bound in red leather, gold tooled and stamped with imperial emblems, title etc.
Dimensions
  • Height: 29.8cm
  • Width: 23.5cm
Dimensions from: Lambert, Susan. The Franco-Prussian War and The Commune in Caricature 1870-71. catalogue of a collection of prints in the possession of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1971.
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Le Pif Impérial, Par Alfred Le Petit Supplément De La Charge No. 6. T'a encore l'temps d'faire ton nez, mon bonhomme, si tu crois r'venir à Paris, tu peux t'fouiller. Se vend chez Duclaux, 21, place du Château-d' Eau. -Dépôt chez Madre, 20, rue du Croissant. Paris. -Typ. Rouge frères et Comp.'

    Note
    Lettered

  • 'A. L. P.'

    Note
    Signed

  • 'Veuillot Schneider' and 'République'

    Note
    Lettered within design.



  • Note
    Most prints in this set are lettered with the names of artists and printers and have captions

Gallery label
(27/05/1971-10/10/1971)
Alfred Le Petit "Zut" (1841-1909)

The Republic cocks a snook at Napoleon Ill, who is standing in chains. Fungi in the form of Veuillot and Eugène Schneider sprout from Napoleon's enormous nose, on which are scribbled caricatures of the Imperial family. On polling day a proclamation arrived from the former Emperor. He declared that he had been 'betrayed by fortune' and claimed to be the only legitimate representative of France. His pathetic attempt to regain power had no more success than this caricature forecast; only a handful of his supporters were returned and these only by faithful Corsicans.

Process engraving, coloured by hand. E.461-1962
Object history
This engraving was the 6th Supplement to the newspaper La Charge.
Subjects depicted
Men
Sash
Epaulettes
Flag
Fungi
Bonaparte, Napoleon III
Schneider, Eugène
Veuillot, Louis
The Empress Eugenie
Napoleon, Eugene Louis Jean Joseph
Bonaparte, Pierre
Bibliographic references
  • Lambert, Susan, The Franco-Prussian War and The Commune in Caricature 1870-71: catalogue of a collection of prints in the possession of the Department of Prints and Drawings of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, V&A, 1971
  • Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1962. London: HMSO, 1964.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.461-1962

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Record createdFebruary 6, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O186586/le-pif-impérial-print-le-petit-alfred/
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