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Les Communeux: Types, Caractères, Costumes

Publisher E. Plon et Cie., Paris French
Printer E. Plon et Cie., Paris French
1880
Not on view
First published in 1871, Bertall’s illustrations of types of the Commune was popular enough to be printed in a third edition by 1880. An English translation of 1873 asserted that the album is the "visual textbook" of the Paris Commune. This page shows two of the pétroleuses, or female arsonists, accused of setting fire to several government buildings during the Commune’s bloody last week. The pétroleuse emerged as a mythic type and a scapegoat, whose role in the Commune was exaggerated in reaction to the threat posed by women’s empowerment during the conflict.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Les Communeux: Types, Caractères, Costumes
  • Illustrator: Charles-Albert Arnoux Bertall (French, Paris 1820–1882 Paris)
  • Publisher: E. Plon et Cie., Paris
  • Printer: E. Plon et Cie., Paris
  • Date: 1880
  • Medium: Illustrations: hand-colored wood engraving
  • Dimensions: 10 7/8 × 8 15/16 × 13/16 in. (27.7 × 22.7 × 2 cm)
  • Classification: Books
  • Credit Line: Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1970
  • Object Number: 1970.565.517
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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La Comédie de Notre Temps: La Civilité--Les Habitudes--Les Moeurs--Les Coutumes--Les Maniéres et Les Manies de Notre Epoque
Charles-Albert Arnoux Bertall
E. Plon et Cie., Paris
1874
La Comédie de Notre Temps (Deuxième Série)
Charles-Albert Arnoux Bertall
E. Plon et Cie., Paris
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Jules Janin
Charles-Albert Arnoux Bertall
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