T. A. Steinlen : Demain ! (Tomorrow!), 1894 (Kleinmann)

By STEINLEN T.A. (1859-1923)

Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen (1859–1923)

Demain ! (Tomorrow!), 1894

Original lithograph, coloured au patron (stencil-coloured, as issued), deluxe edition published by Édouard Kleinmann, Paris.

Monogrammed “P. P.” (Petit Pierre) in the stone lower left, as issued; not hand-signed. Numbered “80” in pencil by the publisher, from the deluxe edition limited to 100 impressions, of which only 40 (nos. 61–100) were stencil-coloured. Publisher’s blind stamp of Éd. Kleinmann (Lugt 1573) lower left.

Dimensions:
Sheet: 45 × 41 cm — 17 ¾ × 16 ⅛ in.
Size of the image: 34 × 32 cm — 13 ⅜ × 12 ⅝ in.

Condition: Very fine condition; unframed.

References: Crauzat, 146

A plate from Steinlen’s celebrated series of political lithographs for Le Chambard Socialiste, the anarcho-syndicalist weekly to which he contributed from its first issue in December 1893 until July 1894. To shield himself from prosecution at the height of the anti-anarchist crackdowns, Steinlen signed these biting social satires under the pseudonym Petit Pierre — hence the “P. P.” monogram in the stone. Demain ! is the pendant to Aujourd’hui !: the setting and figures are the same, but the times have changed — the labourer, the man and the woman with her child have shaken off and broken the yoke, and the worker crushes the terrified landowner beneath the weight of his fist. Reproduced in colours on the front page of Le Chambard Socialiste no. 17, 7 April 1894. Alongside the newspaper’s printing, the publisher Édouard Kleinmann issued a deluxe edition of each plate, identifiable by his blind stamp. These Chambard lithographs, in which Steinlen’s compassion for the working poor finds its most militant expression, have been compared to Daumier’s great political prints.

Original period impression of 1894, deluxe stencil-coloured printing published by Éd. Kleinmann.

Price : 250,00 € ( 285.00 USD )