L'Assiette au Beurre (literally The Butter Plate, and roughly translating to the English expression pork barrel) was an illustrated French weekly satirical magazine with anarchist political leanings that was chiefly produced between 1901 and 1912. It was revived as a monthly for a time and ceased production in 1936.
The magazine's caricature and editorial cartoon content was drawn from a varied cadre of illustrator-contributors of many backgrounds and disparate artistic styles. The content often focused on socialist and anarchist ideas. The first series expired on 15 October 1912. A second series was published between 1921 and 1925 on a monthly basis, eventually becoming a single supplement.
At the time of its founding near the start of the twentieth century, France was divided on crucial issues such as the extension of military service, revanchism (the call of French nationalists to avenge and reclaim from Germany the annexed territories of Alsace-Lorraine), right of association, separation of church and state, freedom of speech, and the emergence of new and radical political and social ideas in France such as revolutionary syndicalism, antimilitarism, anti-clericalism, Proletarian internationalism, feminism and the rise of labour law, which were all subjects of feature in the magazine.
L'Assiette au Beurre is a valuable iconographic testament of the Belle Époque ("Beautiful Era") period in France, characterized by optimism, peace at home and in Europe, new technology and scientific discoveries. Georges Wolinski (killed in the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo), indicated in 2011 that his magazine's work was the legacy of L'Assiette au Beurre.
Description From its first appearance, L'Assiette au Beurre registered as a departure in form from other French humor publications. Each issue was made up of chiefly two- or three-color-inked cartoons and caricatures, given full- or sometimes double-page placement (instead of the more common quarter page real estate granted to such content in related French publications), with each installment containing a minimum of 16 illustrated pages. Special editions held up to 48 pages. Images were published from original drawings using a zincography, planographic printing process.
Periodically, a single artist was chosen for an issue to provide a variety of panels on a specific topic, making that issue a veritable collected album for that illustrator. Sometimes a team was employed as well. According to Kevin C. Robbins in Roving Anarchists Flâneurs: The Visual Politics of Popular Protest via Parisian Street Art in L'Assiette au beurre (1900-1914), "For the most sardonic of multi-media exploits, Assiette staff paired artists with noted, left-wing essayists, poets, or novelists who provided suggestions for timely or provocative captions for each image submitted."
History
Founding
Samuel Sigismond Schwarz was the magazine's founder and director. Schwarz was a Jewish immigrant to France from Hungary, becoming a French naturalized citizen.
After arriving in Paris in 1878, Schwarz became a book broker, specializing in the work of Victor Hugo through association with Paul Meurice. He later managed and was the editor of Le Frou Frou (1900-1923), another French humorist periodical that famously featured Picasso sketches, as well as Le Tutu and Le Pompon — magazines also in the humorist vein and known to have had anti-Dreyfusard leanings. Sigismund established a presence in 1895 at 9 rue Sainte-Anne in Paris as an editor of serial novels and later opened a retail space on behalf of Librairie Schwarz, located at 58 Rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin.
He launched the first issue of L'Assiette au Beurre on 4 April 1901, priced at 25 centimes; it did not have a specific theme, which later editions often did. The front cover illustration titled "Caisse de grève" ("Strike Fund") was by Théophile Steinlen and referred to the labour movement in the communes of Montceau-les-Mines and the involvement of Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, among other Interior Ministers. Other illustrations appearing in the first edition include one by Adolphe Willette depicting the signing of an illustrated letter that plays on the idiomatic meaning of "L'Assiette au Beurre" – to lines one pockets.
This was followed by a Jean Veber drawing occupying two pages, and then by works by Charles Léandre, Gustave-Henri Jossot, Steinlein, Jacques Villon, Charles Huard, Hermann Vogel, Pierre-Georges Jeanniot, Henri-Gabriel Ibels, František Kupka, Auguste Roubille and finally by a Hermann-Paul drawing. Although there was little accompanying text, and no clear anarchist theme to the content, the first issue's tone is fiercely satirical and disrespectful of institutions and the affluent; a trend that increased in later editions.
At inception, L'Assiette au Beurre contained no advertising in its body, but was circulated with a 4-page insert, showcasing Sigismund periodicals and literary productions, as well as editions of classic books, to be purchased directly or through a subscription.
Developments Starting with the fourth issue's cover, the graphic presentation was changed to emulate that of a newspaper. Such typographical variation was quite unusual in the media of the day, though Cocorico had previously paved the way by giving their designers freedom to innovate in the manner. Issue no. 14 was the first to take up a theme, conveyed by its title: "La guerre" ("War"). It was illustrated with 14 lithographs signed by Hermann Paul.
The first special edition of the magazine, released in February 1902, sold for 1 franc and was headlined and took up the theme of "empoisonneurs patentés" ("Patented Poisoners" – referring to a cause célèbre in the France of the time that regarded the practice of tainting milk by adding filler, such as impure water, to increase profits). Júlio Tomás Leal da Câmara, a Portuguese painter and cartoonist who was famous in the Paris of the Belle Epoque, produced the cover, and the issue lambasted the industry for its tainted milk and other industrial food practices that were a fraud on the public. In December 1903, the paper starts printing a "false" cover without images, to guard against censorship, and at the same time to offer advertisements on the back cover.
One of the more unusual issues artistically and in format was no. 48, entitled "Crimes et châtiments" ("Crime and Punishment"). Published on 1 March 1902, and composed by Félix Vallotton, it consists of 23 lithographs printed only on the front and perforated to make each etching detachable, thus rendering it a true album of prints. The selling price was increased to 50 centimes. The format was never repeated, making it a unique feature in the magazine's run.
The first issues sold between 25,000 and 40,000 copies and garnered a profit. In 1902, Sigismund recorded sales approaching 250,000 copies. However, at the end of that year, the publication experienced its first failure linked to poor sales of some of its other titles but managed to recapitalize its newspaper group.In October 1903, at a time when business in general appeared to be going wrong for Sigismund, he passed management of the magazine over to a certain "de Boulay". The quality of the content held up under his stewardship, as did its sales. In August 1904, management was taken over by Charles Bracquart, followed by one E. Victor. The magazine's printing was moved to a more modern location at 62 rue de Provence – the offices of the established art magazine L’Épreuve, administered since at least 1903 by André Joncières, the heir to a large fortune. In January 1905, the management weekly was taken over by Joncières, who remained in control until October 1912. Joncières introduced advertising and derivative products (post cards, almanacs, calendars, etc.). The magazine's last address was 51 rue du Rocher. The penultimate issue (593) should never have appeared and had the ultimate theme "Les Vieilles Filles" ("Old Girls").Notice sur Gallica, en ligne.
Between 1907 and 1912 Joncières broadened the magazine's appeal abroad by incorporating material about organizations such as the Second International, the CGT and various European socialist parties; the printing of Franco-German and Franco-English special issues, with bilingual captions; inviting outside cartoonists to contribute; and by coverage of significant socio-political events, such as the great French general strike of September 1911.
Decline of the series (1910-1912) L'Assiette au Beurre is a periodical demanding an artistic point of view, and its production cost was significant from the outset. From 1910 to 1911, the production values suffered due to financial troubles. Joncières subsidized the magazine with his fortune in an attempt to keep the price to 50 centimes. The last issue of the first series, no. 594, came out on 12 October 1912. The first series comprised 593 numbers, excluding special issues.
Joncières died in August 1920. Georges Anquetil revived L'Assiette au Beurre on 20 November 1921 in a monthly edition. From October 1925 to January 1927, the white Blackbird makes its literary supplement. Subsequently, editions were more scarce until 1936 where the title disappears officially, although between 1943 and 1944 some reprisal editions were published containing content from the first series.
First series illustrators L'Assiette au Beurre was primarily a work of illustrators; more than 9,600 discrete drawing were produced.
Jack Abeillé Adaramakaro Andrisek Apa Aroun-al-Rachid Gil Baer Paul Balluriau Emmanuel Barcet Jacques Baseilhac Émile Bayard Bellery-Desfontaines René Berger Édouard Bernard Henry Bing Otto Bleistift Paul Bour Henri Boutet Léopold Braun Zyg Brunner [Zyg] Georges Bruyer Léonce Burret Eugène Cadel Camara (Tomás Leal da Câmara) Leonetto Cappiello Caran d'Ache André Cahard Charles Émile Egli Georges Carré Édouard Carrier Carsten Ravn Chanteclair (Lucien Émery) Jules Chéret A. Clément Eugène Courboin Édouard Couturier Jules Grandjouan Dedina Aristide Delannoy Maurice Delcourt Döes (Louis Sabattier) Noël Dorville Didier Dubucq Hector Dumas Abel Faivre
Pierre Falké Maurice Feuillet Florane (Louis Blanchard) Ricardo Florès Jean-Louis Forain Léon Fourment Frédéric Front Démétrios Galanis Gabriele Galantara Armand Gallo Georges Gaumet (Géo Gaumet) František Gellner Charles Genty Géo Dupuis Léon Carré Henry Gerbault Charles Gir César Giris Gosé Fernand-Louis Gottlob Henri Goussé Jules Grandjouan Juan Gris Jules Grün Lucien Guy Albert Guillaume Guydo Carl Happel Lucien Haye Oswald Heidbrinck André Hellé Joseph Hémard Jules Hénault Hermann-Paul Eugene Higgins Bernhard Hoetger Charles Huard Václav Hradecký Henri-Gabriel Ibels Georges Hillaireau Paul Iribe Charles-Boris de Jankowski Albert Jarach Pierre Georges Jeanniot
Hippolyte Petitjean Gustave-Henri Jossot Paul Jouve Carl Jozsa Raphael Kirchner J. Kladoff Leó Kóber Konrad-Wagner František Kupka Chas Laborde Jean Émile Laboureur Ernest La Jeunesse Lami Raymond de La Nézière Fabien Launay Charles Léandre Camille Lefèvre Edmond Lempereur Georges Léonnec Alfred Le Petit Roberto Lewis Manuel Luque Louis Malteste Maurice Marodon Louis Marcoussis [Markous] Aris Mertzanoff Lucien Métivet Georges Meunier Arthur Michaël Tony Minartz Henry Mirande Hector Moloch Pierre-Louis Moreau Louis Morin Valéry Müller Cesare Musacchio Félix Nadar Bernard Naudin Nob Frisco Othman Manuel Orazi Georges d'Ostoya Pelele Petitjean
Mario Pezilla Pierlis Rudolf Plaček Jean Plumet Paul Poncet Poulbot Vojtěch Preissig Benjamin Rabier Maurice Radiguet Gaston Raieter Georges Redon Raymond Renefer Albert Robida Roubille Sancha Marius Savignol Sidley Ardengo Soffici M. Steydlé Steinlen Strix Ludvík Strimpl Jehan Testevuide Paul Thesing Jules Grandjouan Evelio Torent André Triou Miklós Vadász