DEMANGE, Pierre-Aimé — Les Mésaventures

Paris: Chez Gilhaut Frères, 1828. One of Demange's Earliest Caricature Suites A Rare Hand-Colored Album Published by Gihaut Frères DEMANGE, Pierre-Aimé. Les Mésaventures. Paris: Gihaut Frères, 1828. First edition. Oblong quarto (10 3/8 x 13 5/8 inches; 264 x 346 mm.). Six finely hand-colored lithographic plates, each one with six humorous scenes. Contemporary quarter mottled calf over marbled boards. Original printed gray wrapper, serving as the title, preserved and bound in. Upper cover with contemporary shaped green paper label, neatly lettered in manuscript: "Caricatures / Les Mésaventures / par Demange." Spine rubbed and worn at extremities but still quite sound. An excellent example in its original contemporary binding. A delightful and very scarce early lithographic suite depicting six comic misadventures from everyday French life. Published by Gihaut Frères in Paris in 1828, the work belongs to the first generation of humorous lithographic albums that emerged during the formative years of French Romantic lithography. Demange's lively compositions combine keen observation with gentle social satire, while the delicate contemporary hand-coloring considerably enhances their appeal. Issued only a few years after the Gihaut brothers expanded their business into publishing original lithographic albums, the suite reflects the firm's important role in establishing Paris as the center of the new art of lithography. Gihaut went on to publish works by artists including Nicolas-Toussaint Charlet, Hippolyte Bellangé, and Auguste Raffet. Comprising six finely hand-colored lithographs, each illustrating an everyday mishap or comic disaster, Les Mésaventures exemplifies the humorous albums that enjoyed enormous popularity during the Restoration. These works formed an important link between the caricature traditions of the early nineteenth century and the mature social satire of Honoré Daumier, Paul Gavarni, Henry Monnier, and Grandville. Rare: OCLC/RLIN locate just one example in libraries and institutions worldwide: Kunstbiblio Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Germany). Pierre-Aimé Demange (1802-1853) was one of the earliest generation of French lithographic artists. Today he is best remembered for humorous genre scenes, caricatures, and illustrations of Parisian life, and is recorded in Bénézit. .