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."

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").

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 1910-1911, the technical and artistic quality 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.

Contributing writers

L'Assiette au Beurre at times had contributions from prominent writers:

Themes

The purpose of an anarchist, satirical weekly, that considers itself transgressive, is of course to mock forms of authorities of all stripes; the targets ran the map: autocrats, the rich, the military, police, artists and writers, scientists, academicians, politicians, priests and believers, often through fierce caricatures. At least in its early stages the magazine maintained a focus on political issues through its drawings, sometimes anti-semitic (in 1902, Judaism was skewered) and often anti-freemasonry and anti-imperialism. The plutocracy was systematically attacked. L'Assiette au Beurre employed more than two hundred artists of an international character. Social issues, often taboo, were also included, such as the death penalty, trafficking of children, sexuality, or even of the themes of daily life such as "L'argent" ("money"), "Le gaz" (gas"), "La police [et ses excès]" (the police and their excesses]), "L'alcool" ("alcohol"), "Paris la nuit" ("Paris by night"), and many others.

List of theme issues

Special editions and supplements

Readership and impact

The per issue price was relatively average for a weekly of its quality at the start: 25 centimes (on average 4 times the price of a non-illustrated daily), though the price would increase to up to 60 centimes depending on the number of pages. The price base was revised upward in May 1901 (30 cents per regular issue) and in 1905 again to 50 centimes, after Sigismund withdrew. The price iwas judged too high by some, including Jules Grandjouan, who ultimately wrote to Joncières about the issue.

In February 1906, Senator René Bérenger, nicknamed " Père la Pudeur" ("Father Modesty") championed a bill focused on child prostitution: under this pretext, he sought to censor what was deemed pornographic and obscene. With its legality uncertain, the in April 1908 the Chambre des députés (Chamber of Deputies), placed the sale of L'Assiette au Beurre under threat of police sanction. A sales ban was instituted in railway stations (to "protéger les yeux chastes de certains publics" ("protect the chaste eyes of the public"), while some of its composers were even arrested (e.g. Jules Grandjouan) and spent a few days in prison.