32 cartoons mocking Emile Zola by Lebourgeois - published at the height of the Dreyfus Affair Paris, 1898.
A full series of 32 colorful cartoons, condemning Emile Zola for his support of Alfred Dreyfus. In the same year that the cartoons were published, Zola was tried for libel and found guilty, sentenced to one year in prison and a fine, as well as expelled from the Legion of Honor and in response fled to England. (About a year after the indictment, he was allowed to return to France). The cartoons used Zola's own books and testimonies from the Dreyfus trial. Among the figures are General Henri, who led the campaign against Dreyfus (in the same year it was discovered that he forged an important document and was arrested, after confessing to the forgeries he committed suicide in prison), as well as judges. Another cartoon shows Zola fleeing France with a local soldier chasing him, another shows Zola in a prison cell with mice at his feet, a cartoon showing Zola as a clown beating a drum that reads: "J'Accuse" [Zola's famous article was published in January of that year], and more.
32 cartoon boards. 26x17 cm. Good Condition.
