Le Dimanche au Jardin des Plantes.

Trustman, Benjamin A., Trustman, Julia M. · 1862

A crowd of people are wandering through the botanical gardens in Paris. The lithographic stone of this print can be seen in the Boston Public Library. The Botanical Garden, opened as early as 1635 under Louis XII, was a great attraction for the population of Paris. It also offered a variety of themes to many artists like Daumier, Corot, Delacroix and others. On Sunday afternoons the Garden was a meeting point for entertainment and action. Around the same time, in 1857, the New York Central Park was built, offering the same distraction to the population. LE MONDE ILLUSTRÉ. Daumier ceased working for the Charivari in February 1860. At this period he also worked for Le Monde Illustré, supplying wood engravings for this weekly magazine. Until 1869 he produced 25 prints for this paper. At the same time he worked for LE BOULEVARD, where this print was published. LE BOULEVARD and SOUVENIRS D'ARTISTES. This weekly illustrated journal was established by the artist, journalist, and photographer Etienne Carjat. The editors were Aubert and Delauney while Carjat acted as editor-in-chief. The first number appeared on January 5, 1862 (a first so-called specimen edition came out on December 1, 1861, apart from the total of 76 numbers), and the last one on June 14, 1863. There also exists an album : "Collection des Charges de Portraits, scènes comiques sur les principaux personnages de notre temps". The publication can be considered a very rare and very important mirror for the time of the second Empire with its literary, critical, anecdotal and illustrated contributions. Banville, Baudelaire, Carjat, Champfleury, Alphonse Daudet, Victor Hugo and many more were literary contributors. The 118 illustrations of LE BOULEVARD were by Carjat, Doré, Daumier and others. Daumier did 11 illustrations for this paper: DR 3243-3252, 3254. All of them can be considered exceptional lithographs in their quality and expression. DR 3243 and 3246 carry the title LE BOULEVARD. All the others don’t show this title. The information conc. DR3246 originates from the 1904 Hazard work catalogue. We have yet to see a print to be able to confirm this. In 2004 a complete bound set of the Boulevard was offered in New York for 12'500 $. In 2001 a complete bound version was sold in a French auction house for 10'000 French Francs. For each of the lithographic stones which Daumier delivered to Carjat for publication in the BOULEVARD, he received the amount of 50 Francs. All these scenes were considered outstanding pieces of art and were immediately reprinted with a wide margin on heavy white paper in the album SOUVENIRS D’ARTISTES. The Album included also DR 3253 (not part of the BOULEVARD edition). Some rare impressions on “Chine appliqué” were set aside for selected collectors. DR 3243 and 3246 carry the title Le Boulevard, the other prints don't.