Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen - Cent Millions (One Hundred Millions), 1894

Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen (1859–1923)

Cent Millions (One Hundred Millions), 1894

Original lithograph, coloured au patron (stencil-coloured), deluxe printing published by Édouard Kleinmann, Paris.

Monogrammed "P. P." (Petit Pierre) in the stone, as issued; not hand-signed. This impression bears the publisher's blind stamp of Éd. Kleinmann (Lugt 1573) but no pencil number — apparently outside the numbered edition of 100 (of which nos. 61–100 were stencil-coloured); Crauzat records one unnumbered proof aside from the numbered edition.

Dimensions:
Sheet: 45 × 41 cm — 17 ¾ × 16 ⅛ in.
Size of the image: 30.8 × 29 cm — 12 ⅛ × 11 ⅜ in.

Condition: Very fine condition; unframed.

References: Crauzat, 140

A plate from Steinlen's celebrated series of political lithographs for Le Chambard Socialiste, the anarcho-syndicalist weekly to which he contributed from its first issue in December 1893 until July 1894. To shield himself from prosecution at the height of the anti-anarchist crackdown, Steinlen signed these biting social satires under the pseudonym Petit Pierre — hence the "P. P." monogram in the stone. Reproduced in colours on the front page of Le Chambard Socialiste no. 11, 24 February 1894. Alongside the newspaper's printing, the publisher Édouard Kleinmann issued a deluxe edition of each plate, identifiable by his blind stamp. These Chambard lithographs, in which Steinlen's compassion for the working poor finds its most militant expression, have been compared to Daumier's great political prints.

Original period impression of 1894, deluxe stencil-coloured printing published by Éd. Kleinmann.