Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-05-19
Some Ofihe Earlier Works OF the
Great Artist.

Paris Letter to Philadelphia Telegraph
He was eleven years old, he told me.
when he made his first drawing for
publication, but his first actual work,
a set of c~aricatures of the "Labors of
Hercules" was produced when he was
thirteen. AT the age of fifteen he was
a regular contributor to a host of
cheap illustrated publications Sin
France, Germany, Russia, Poland and
| know not where else beside"
he added. laughingly. Two
years later he issued his
Wandering jew" probably the most
remarkable series OF illustrations eve
conceived and executed by a boy of
IL. In those early days he used to
make sometimes as many as three or
four drawings a day, for each of which
he charged 8 francs. 1t was the period
Of cheap novels, issued in numbers, in
newspaper form, at 10 and II cents
the number, and his facile pencil was
called into play to illustrate the works
of writers long ago forgotten, such as
Alphonse Brot, the bibhophile Jacob,
etc. Sometimes he was not paid
for his work-often it was not even
signed. Then again he would
execute a series of drawings
for some publication that would perish
before reaching half a dozen numbers,
and so his work would be lost. [ told
him of an American admirer who
once tried to form a collection of these
early efforts of his genius. He laughed
at the idea, and said that to form any
thing like a complete one would be
as he did not possess one
himself, nor would it be possible to
find many ofthe light, ephemeral pub
locations in which they had appeared.
Moreover he said, there are too
many of them. In the first eleven
years of my artistic career, | must
have produced, not hundreds, but
thousands of illustrations"
He then spoke Of one of his earliest
works, a Comic History OF Russia"
a series of ~caricatures published dur
ing the Crimean war, and afterward
prohibited by the government. This
work has become extremely rare, so
much so that Dore only possesses one
copy of it himself, and that is in a
very bad condition. Il wish" said |.
M. Dore, that you would make an
exhibition of your collected works"
Madam" he replied, laughing, they
would reach from here to Vincennes
if they were set side by side; l would
have to engage the palais de lindustr .
to hold my exhibition in" He then
told me hal he had in his possession
whole boxes full of unpublished illus
trations and completed drawings that
have never yet been shown to the
public.
Some joking remark was made re-
specting the great artists persistent
celibacy. "Ah," he replied, II have
been too lazy to marry, and now | am
too old am 40. Besides, | have
been so happy in my family relations
that | have had no inclination for
matrimony." He alluded, l believe,
to his mother, who is still living ana
to whom he has always been most
tenderly devoted. From something
that be let fall | was led to imagine
that he has a vague dea of visiting
the United States at no very distant
date, and that a series Of illustrations
of American life would be the result
OF his journey did he ever undertake
it. Niagara and the wonderful
scenery of the Yellowstone would
afford congenial subjects for his pencil.