The Communists of Paris 1871 by Bertall

Today we look at The Communists of Paris 1871 by Bertall.
This satirical work is by artist, writer, caricaturist and illustrator Charles-Albert d'Arnoux a.k.a. Bertall. Bertall changed his name after a suggestion by Balzac for whose Oeuvre he produced the illustrations. The topic of this work is the Paris Commune of 1871, a government that briefly ruled Paris in 1871 and has been viewed, by Karl Marx among others, as the first Socialist government. Here, Bertall (an Englishman residing in Paris) describes the Paris Commune satirically in 40 plates, each including a hand-coloured illustration by the artist of a Commune stereotype.
The Library's Special Collections include a number of rare or valuable titles, some dating back to the sixteenth century. These titles are mostly held in the Mackintosh Library. Because of the value of these items, special access arrangement are in place, with viewing strictly by appointment only with our Academic Liaison Librarians.