La Caricature

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The journal "La Caricature" was founded in Paris in 1830 by Charles Philipon and also edited by him; it was published weekly by Aubert publishing house. Before the first regular issue went on sale on 4 November 1830, a trial issue, the "Numéro-Modèle" - which is very sought-after today - was published, together with a lithograph by Grandville. The individual issues of "Caricature" consisted of four text pages and were sold together with two, in most cases colourized, lithographs.
In comparison to "Charivari" which, from 1832 onwards, was also published by Philipon, "La Caricature" was printed on higher quality paper and produced with greater effort; furthermore its orientation was more political and anti-clerical than "Charivari". With regard to content the periodical represented republican interests and was critical of French politics of the era i.e. of King Louis-Philippe.
The periodical "La Caricature" was published for four years and ten months from 4 November 1830 until 28 August 1835; in total 251 individual issues were produced including 524 lithographs. Its print run went up from an initial 850 to over 1000 copies, even though the yearly subscription was expensive, the 52 Francs amounting to 10% of the yearly income of a worker. Following the enactment of the so-called Septembre 1835 laws press freedom was further restricted and thus Philipon was forced to cease publication.
Some of the most eminent illustrators of "La Caricature" were Honoré Daumier and Grandville but also artists such as Bouquet, Traviès, Desperret and Adam Victor contributed to the journal.