Three antisemitic posters from the series Musée des Horreurs – “Exhibition of the Monsters” / “Museum of Horrors” – The Dreyfus Affair. France, 1900.
Poster No. 41: La valeur n’attend pas le nombre des années! – From the series mocking supporters of Dreyfus, by V. Lenepveu, Paris. Published in July 1900. In French. One of the rarest posters in the series. A striking color lithograph depicting Antoine Monis (1882–1952), son and private secretary of the Minister of Justice, portrayed as an infant due to the fact that he was only 17 years old on July 1, 1899, when he was appointed chief private secretary to his father. Antoine is shown holding a rattle marked “Ministère de la Justice” and a bottle of Martell cognac. His father served as Minister of Justice at the time of Dreyfus’s final pardon.
Poster No. 42: Nathan Mayer ou l’origine des milliards – Published in August 1900. Depicts banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836) as a grave-robber digging through the bone-littered battlefield of Waterloo in search of gold coins. Based on a rumor spread by antisemitic writers such as Édouard Drumont, claiming Rothschild had profited from betting on the outcome of the battle.
Poster No. 49: La Casserole de Fontainebleau – Published in November 1900. Depicts Captain Adrien Kœnigswarter (1866–1928) as a rabbit with a clipped tail (a reference to circumcision), riding a cooking pot. On October 10, General André ordered the dismissal of several antisemitic officers from the artillery training school in Fontainebleau who had expressed distrust toward Kœnigswarter. On October 13, the school’s commander, General Frébault, was placed on leave.
The series Musée des Horreurs (“Exhibition of the Monsters”) was published during the Dreyfus Affair under a pseudonym, and comprised 51 large posters featuring anti-Dreyfusard, antisemitic, and anti-Masonic illustrations. The series was released in France over the course of approximately one year, from October 1899 to December 1900. Originally planned as a set of 200 posters, only 51 were ultimately produced. The earliest posters in the series were widely distributed, with over 300,000 copies sold. In October 1899, French police arrested several street vendors selling posters from the series, under the orders of Prefect Louis Lépine. According to some reports, Lépine ordered the crackdown following an appeal from Baron de Rothschild, who claimed that the damage caused by the posters was irreparable. In February 1900, local police sent letters threatening to revoke the business licenses of shopkeepers who continued to sell the posters. Distribution ceased shortly thereafter.
Uniform size: 50×65 cm. Mounted on linen for preservation and display. Good condition.
