Robert-Macaire architecte. Comment, Mr. Macaire, cette maison qui ne devait me coûter, d’après votre devis, que 70.000 f. va me revenir à plus de trois cent mille !… - Que voulez-vous, ce n’est pas ma faute, vous faites percer au midi une croisée que nous devions ouvrir au nord; vous ne voulez plus que quatre étages au lieu de cinq ; nous devions couvrir en zinc, nous ne couvrons plus qu’en ardoise. Je ne puis répondre que de mon projet, vous le changez, ça vous regarde.

Trustman, Benjamin A., Trustman, Julia M. · 1837

According to Provost there are doubts that this print is really by Daumier. We can assume that the first stone DR 395 was damaged and had to be redone as a mirror image (by Daumier?) to publish DR 396. The illustrated print in its only state originally belonged to the Longstreet Collection and is today part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Robert Macaire may seem to be a realistic figure, however one should remember that in reality he is an artificial personality, created in 1823 by Benjamin Antier for his play „ L’Auberge des Adrets“. The breakthrough came in 1834, when Frédéric Lemaitre used the names of Macaire and his somewhat simple partner Serres-Bertrand for his various comedies in Paris. The figure of Macaire goes back as far as 1371, when - as the legend goes - Aubri de Montdidier, a nobleman from the court of Charles V was assassinated by Macaire. The murder was vindicated by his dog, the only witness of the assassination. A duel between the dog and Macaire, who was armed with a cudgel, should settle the case. The dog killed Macaire, who confessed the murder before he died. Philipon was the author of all the texts of this series. It should be noted that Daumier did not monogram or sign the prints, presumable because Philipon wanted to document his position as author of the texts and as “inventor” of the series.