Un DINER MAIGRE. - Le poisson était bon, mais il est par trop salé sur la carte... trente-neuf francs un diner maigre!... - Ce restaurateur est un hérétique.... il nous fait violer un des préceptes les plus chrétiens: Vendredi cher ne mangeras!....

Trustman, Benjamin A., Trustman, Julia M. · 1844

There is a play of words in the text of this print: "manger cher" means "to eat expensively" and "manger chair" means "to eat meat". Both "cher" and "chair" are pronounced in the same way. On February 24, 1858 a new law ended a monopoly from which some 500 meat stalls and butcheries in Paris had benefited for many years, giving way to free enterprise. Even the scales, manipulated by the butchers in a rather creative way, were suddenly standardized under a governmental system of control. This change, effecting everyday life, motivated Daumier to produce 11 lithographs (DR 3010-3021) as well as a number of drawings and paintings, covering the subject.