Literature Delteil, vol. VI (XXV), no. 2038. II.

The current print was handcoloured by the artist Edouard Bouvenne and inscribed Modèle. This would have been the sample circulating to publishers and showing the colour scheme to be copied on future colour prints.

Le Charivari was an illustrated magazine that published cartoons, caricatures and reviews. After 1835 it was banned from publishing political cartoons and so they were replaced by satirical images of everyday life, such as our print. At the outset it was published daily, before being reduced to weekly, and Daumier was one of its regular contributors.

The stamp in the bottom right-hand corner relates to tax paid on the purchase of the paper.