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| Title | Proposition de Constitution aux Habitans de l'Ile St. Hélène |
| Creator | [Louis] |
| Place of Publication | [France--Paris] |
| Date | [1815] |
| Caption Text | Caption on image:
Proposition de Constitution aux Habitans de L'Ile St. Hélène par l'Ex Empereur et Roi (Constitutional proposition to the inhabitants of St. Helena island by the ex emperor and king)
A Paris chez tous les Marchands de Nouveautés (In Paris at all merchants of new releases)
Déposé a la Direction des Estampes (Registered per the Director of Prints)
Dialogue and signage: [Napoleon]Vous le jurez? (Do you swear it?)
[Soldier rat] Nous le jurons. (We swear it.)
[Rat on right] Oui! Oui! (Yes, yes)
[Banner] Champ de Mai 1816 (Field of May 1816)
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| Historical Notes | This famous drawing satirizes the Champ de Mai 1815, a grand ceremony and parade held in front of the Ecole Militaire during the Hundred Days of Napoleon's return. After a parade of 50,000 soldiers and a 600-gun salute, Napoleon presented the new constitution and representatives of the people swore oaths of loyalty to it. Napoleon appeared in robes of purple velvet and white satin, not in red as shown here. Published after Napoleon's exile to St. Helena, the drawing suggests that on the one-year anniversary of the Champ de Mai, Napoleon will be able to demand oaths of loyalty only from the rats that were known to infest the island.
Reference source: Clerc #165; George #12712.
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| Publishing Notes | Dépot légal on Aug 12, 1815, per the De Vinck catalog. Clerc attributes the drawing to the artist identified simply as Louis.
Also found in the De Vinck Collection (#9809) at the Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris) and the Collection de l'histoire de F
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| Subjects (LCSH) | Political cartoons
History--Caricatures & cartoons
Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821
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| Geographic Coverage | France |
| Digital Collection | Napoleonic Period Collection
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| Digital ID Number | NAP007 |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division. |
| Repository Collection | Napoleon Collection |
| UW Reference Number | F3 |
| Object Type | Print |
| Physical Description | Etching, hand colored ; plate mark 33 x 26 cm. on sheet 35 x 27 cm. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original drawing in RGB at 200-400 dpi, saved in TIFF format, changed to indexed color, enhanced and resized using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using Contentdm software's JPEG2000 Extension. 2006. |
