- Oui, Madame, je suis tout dévoué à notre Auguste Prince et moyennant quelques misérables centaines de mille francs, je me fais fort de le rétablir sur le trône. – Quels sont vos moyens ? Mes moyens ! j’en suis rempli, de moyens ! j’ai des amis, des journaux, et si toute la famille des Macaire se déclare pour lui, jamais Prince n’aura levé une plus innombrable armée !…
- Oui, Madame, je suis tout dévoué à notre Auguste Prince et moyennant quelques misérables centaines de mille francs, je me fais fort de le rétablir sur le trône. – Quels sont vos moyens ? Mes moyens ! j’en suis rempli, de moyens ! j’ai des amis, des journaux, et si toute la famille des Macaire se déclare pour lui, jamais Prince n’aura levé une plus innombrable armée !…
Title (alt.):
- Yes, Madam, I am devoted to our Prince Augustus and with a few measly hundred thousand francs, I untertake to establish his accession to the throne. - What are your means? My means! I am full of resources, my means! I have friends, newspapers, and if the entire Macaire family supports him, never a Prince had such a huge army at his serivce!.... Caricature
Description:
Monsieur Gogo represented the easy prey for Macaire and his partner Wormspire, who regularly took advantage of his commercial inexperience. Robert Macaire may seem to be a realistic figure, however one should remember that in reality he is an artificial personality, created in 1823 by Benjamin Antier for his play „ L’Auberge des Adrets“. The breakthrough came in 1834, when Frédéric Lemaitre used the names of Macaire and his somewhat simple partner Serres-Bertrand for his various comedies in Paris. The figure of Macaire goes back as far as 1371, when - as the legend goes - Aubri de Montdidier, a nobleman from the court of Charles V was assassinated by Macaire. The murder was vindicated by his dog, the only witness of the assassination. A duel between the dog and Macaire, who was armed with a cudgel, should settle the case. The dog killed Macaire, who confessed the murder before he died. Macaire personified the clever business man, who was willing at any time to throw moral and ethical principles overboard for a quick buck. His personality fitted exactly to the period so well described by Alexis de Tocqueville: self-enrichment at all levels and a Government run on shareholders principles. Short-selling, pyramid systems, investments in Californian gold mines and IPOs of non existent companies were the name of the game. Thanks to Macaire and Bertrand, all the little tricks were demonstrated in detail to the public.
Copyright restrictions may apply. For permission to copy or use this image, contact the Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections Department, Brandeis University Libraries. The following credit line must be included with each item used: Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman Collection of Honoré Daumier Lithographs, Robert D. Farber University Archives & Special Collections Department, Brandeis University.
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Place of origin:
Paris
Notes:
3rd state.
Published in: La Caricature, March 21, 1841.
Notes (acquisition):
Donated by: Benjamin A. and Julia M. Trustman, 1959.
