Le Père Duchesne (19th c.)

1871 issue of Père Duchêne: No. 4. One cent. "Republic or Death! The Great Anger of Père Duchêne"

Le Père Duchêne ("Old Man Duchesne") is the title of a newspaper which appeared during revolutionary periods of the nineteenth century. It borrowed its title from the original Père Duchesne published by Jacques Hébert during the French Revolution. After Hébert's death, the title reappeared with all sorts of variations (Old Lady Duchesne, Son of Père Duchêne, etc.) from the 1790s on, notably during the Revolution of 1848 and the Paris Commune of 1871 (in editions by publishers Eugène Vermersch, Maxime Vuillaume, and Alphonse Humbert).

The Cover of Son of the Illustrious Père Duchêne

Ten issues appeared as an under the title The Illustrious Son of Père Duchêne [tr. note: this can also be translated as Illustrated Son of Père Duchêne, which was an intentional pun], from April 21 through to May 24, 1871 (descriptions below). The collection was able to illustrate the most striking events of the Commune; its last issue appeared during the Commune's end on the "Bloody Week" (Semaine sanglante) - strikingly, even the very end of the Paris government is depicted in the magazine's last issue.

N°	Republican Date	Gregorian Date	Title	Description	Legend
	1st Floréal 79	April 21, 1871	The Vendôme Column	Père Duchesne facing the statue of Napoléon Bonaparte at the top of the Vendôme Column	Sooo! you dirty bugger, you're gonna get screwed down there like that scumbag nephew of yours [i.e.: Napoleon III of France]!...
	6 Floréal 79	April 26, 1871	LittleThiers	The Commune [tr. note: personified as the French national symbol, Marianne] holding Thiers in the form of a sickly newborn	And to think anyone would want to force me to recognize that son of a bitch!...
	10 Floréal 79	April 30, 1871	General Dombrowski (Jarosław Dąbrowski)	Dombrowski, saber in hand, routing the people of Versailles	A good guy!... God!...
	13 Floréal 79	May 3, 1871	The dictator Thiers	Thiers mounted on a snail on the way to Paris	Forward!.. fuck of a fuck!...and watch out for Parisians!...
	17 Floréal 79	May 7, 1871	Political puppets	The Commune [Marianne] and Thiers hiding a box of Cayenne pepper (as puppets)	You expect me to put down my stick ... Have you finished ! First, show me what you're hiding behind your back, little fella!.... [pun on Foutriquet, sobriquet for Thiers ]
	20 Floréal 79	May 10, 1871	Political puppets	General Vinoy brandishing his big stick over the Commune [Marianne] lying on the ground, breasts bared (as puppets)	The dream of that big jackass, Vinoy.
	24 Floréal 79	May 14, 1871	Citizen Courbet	Gustave Courbet bowling over a Morris column	Knocking down all the columns... of Paris
	27 Floréal 79	May 17, 1871	The dream of Badinguet (Napoleon III)	Napoléon III as a bat, comparing the weights of Thiers and of the Republic	For governing, always rabid, Here's my plan: - it's splendid! - I will make both of them fight each other, I am waiting for them to eat each other And when Death has emptied it I will return to Paris..., if I WANT TO !                 Napoleon III. Before this cowardly and stupid plan Each of us, with gusto, To this bald monster...smile! [tr.: pun on bat]
	1st Prairial 79	May 21, 1871	Identity cards	A young woman facing Mr. Prudhomme (a bourgeois type) [tr.: "prudent man"], who has the newspaper 'le père Duchêne' in his hand, wearing a sign around his neck reading : J. PRUDHOMME Description Nose ... ey Parker [tr: actually a similar French pun for "nose" and "merchant"] Eyes ... of a partridge Mouth ... shut [tr: similar French pun for "mouth" and "stop-gap"] Veterans battalion.	- Well, my dear Joseph, you've bitched so much about those little boulevard-women, and here you are then, just like them!... They've wasted a card on you too. - It's not the same thing, miss, mine is a civic-minded ("civisme") card and yours is a cynical card ("cynisme")!...
	4 Prairial 79	May 24, 1871	Departure from our good ol' Commune	The Son of Duchesne, dressed as a Fédéré, with the Commune (as Marianne) who is packing her suitcase. (During "Bloody Week")	- Well! My dear Commune, what is it you're screwin' around with there?... - Holy Mother! My cute little Duchêne, I'm packing my trunks...since Mr. Thiers has been screwing me for the past eight days. Only, as you see, I'm not hurrying too much.