Le Père Duchesne (19th c.)

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1871 issue of Père Duchêne: No. 4. One cent.  "Republic or Death! The Great Anger of Père Duchêne"
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1871 issue of Père Duchêne: No. 4. One cent. "Republic or Death! The Great Anger of Père Duchêne"

Le Père Duchêne ("Old Man Duchesne") is the title of a newspaper which appeared during revolutionary periods of the nineteenth century. It borrowed its title from the Père Duchesne published by Jacques Hébert during the French Revolution. After Hébert's death, the title reappeared with all sorts of variations (Old Lady Duchesne, Son of Père Duchêne, etc.) at least a hundred times from the 1790s on, notably during the Revolution of 1848 and the Paris Commune of 1871 (in editions by publishers Eugène Vermersch, Maxime Vuillaume, and Alphonse Humbert).

[edit] The Cover of Son of the Illustrious Père Duchêne

Ten issues appeared as a under the title The Illustrious Son of Père Duchêne [tr. note: this can also be translated as Illustrated Son of Père Duchêne, which was an intentional pun], from April 21 through to May 24, 1871 (descriptions below). The collection was able to illustrate the most striking events of the Commune; its last issue appeared during the Commune's end on the "Bloody Week" (Semaine sanglante) - strikingly, even the very end of the Paris government is depicted in the magazine's last issue.

Republican Date Gregorian Date Title Description Legend
1 1st Floréal 79 April 21 1871 The Vendôme Column Père Duchesne facing the statue of Napoléon Bonaparte at the top of the Vendôme Column Sooo! you damned scoundrel, you're gonna get screwed down there like that rascally nephew of yours [i.e.: Napoleon III of France]!...
2 6 Floréal 79 April 26 1871 LittleThiers The Commune [tr. note: personified as the French national symbol, Marianne] holding Thiers in the form of a sickly newborn And to think anyone would want to force me to recognize that son of a bitch!...
3 10 Floréal 79 April 30 1871 General Dombrowski Dombrowski, saber in hand, routing the people of Versailles A good guy!... God!...
4 13 Floréal 79 May 3 1871 The dictator Thiers Thiers mounted on a snail on the way to Paris Forward!.. fuck of a fuck!...and watch out for Parisians!...
5 17 Floréal 79 May 7 1871 Political puppets The Commune [Marianne] and Thiers hiding a box of Cayenne pepper (as puppets) You expect me to put down my stick ... Have you finished ! First, show me what you're hiding behind your back, little fella!.... [pun on Foutriquet, sobriquet for Thiers ]
6 20 Floréal 79 May 10 1871 Political puppets General Vinoy brandishing his big stick over the Commune [Marianne] lying on the ground, breasts bared (as puppets) The dream of that big jackass, Vinoy.
7 24 Floréal 79 May 14 1871 Citizen Courbet Gustave Courbet bowling over a Morris column Fucking from behind all the columns... of Paris
8 27 Floréal 79 May 17 1871 The dream of Badinguet (Napoleon III) Napoléon III as a bat, comparing the weights of Thiers and of the Republic For governing, always rabid,

Here's my plan: - it's splendid! -
I will make both of them fight each other,
I am waiting for them to eat each other
And when Death has emptied it
I will return to Paris..., if I WANT TO !
                Napoleon III.
Before this cowardly and stupid plan
Each of us, with gusto,
To this bald monster...smile! [tr.: pun on bat]

9 1st Prairial 79 May 21 1871 Identity cards A young woman facing Mr. Prudhomme (a bourgeois type) [tr.: "prudent man"], who has the newspaper 'le père Duchêne' in his hand, wearing a sign around his neck reading :

J. PRUDHOMME
Description
Nose ... ey Parker [tr: actually a similar French pun for "nose" and "merchant"]
Eyes ... of a partridge
Mouth ... shut
[tr: similar French pun for "mouth" and "stop-gap"]
Veterans battalion.

- Well, my dear Joseph, you've bitched so much about those little boulevard-women, and here you are then, just like them!... They've wasted a card on you too.

- It's not the same thing, miss, mine is a civic-minded ("civisme") card and yours is a cynical card ("cynisme")!...

10 4 Prairial 79 May 24 1871 Departure from our good ol' Commune The Son of Duchesne, dressed as a Fédéré, with the Commune (as Marianne) who is packing her suitcase. (During "Bloody Week") - Well! My dear Commune, what is it you're screwin' around with there?...

- Holy Mother! My cute little Duchêne, I'm packing my trunks...since Mr. Thiers has been screwing me for the past eight days. Only, as you see, I'm not hurrying too much.

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