L'Assiette au Beurre

I found these at an Amsterdam book market. (Links pending) L'Assiette au Beurre was a weekly satirical review, only a few pages per issue. Like today's Le Canard Enchainee or Charlie Hebdo, it was highly topical but also covered perennial subjects. Hot topics included ministerial reforms, police scandals, Spanish royal intrigues, the 10th World Socialist Congress in Copenhagen, and the World War that almost happened in 1909. Perennials included colonial policy in Arabia, European arms escalation, the death penalty (see below) and, well just about anything. They did almost 600 issues after all. Oh yeah, they regularly teed off on the Little Father himself, Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor of all the Russias. He won't be missed. L'Assiette au Beurre was a bracing dash of vitriol in the face of officialdom, domestic and international, and its targets should be glad to be remembered at all.

Ohm