The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-09-22
A MAKER OF MIRTH.
Caran D'Ache, the Great French
Caricaturist.

is in a sense responsible for the Franco
Russian alliance, since he is without a
peer as an Indicator of the weaknesses
and foibles of H. I. M. Wilhelm II. i
was born and bred in the Napoleonic
tradition" M. d'Ache said, in answer
to a question. Il am by birth a Musco-
vite; but, as so often happens in such
cases, the fact that I had never seen
and knew so little of the land OF my
ancestors only increased my desire to
see France, and even as child sol
EMMY determined to reconquer my
French nationality. My father died
when l was II, and in spite of all that
my friends had to say against the idea,
applied at the French Embassy in
order to know what would be the best
way in which to fulfill the obligation
which 1 knew devolved on every young
Frenchman, of serving a certain time
in the French army. Once l had OBJ
tanned this, to me, very important in
formation, 1 started gayly for France
with very little money in my pocket,
but with high hopes and boundless am
billions surging through my brain. AS
a schOolboy / was always drawing, but
only for my own pleasure, and, l need
good deal of my time was spent as a
child among the good-natured soldiers
of my fathers adopted country, and
confess l cherished a secret wish OF
becoming a military painter. One day,
to my great joy, some one presented
me with fine book of French engrav-
ings, and among it's contents was a
short account of Detaille, together with
4 l.
Accordingly I made up my mind that
l would seek him out-youth is ever
bold-and no sooner had l reached
Paris, in, I may add, a somewhat for
lorn condition, than l boldly presented
myself at NJ. Detailles front door, a
portfolio Of sketches under my arm.
And you were kindly received?D
Kindly is not the word! Edouard De-
taille received me in fashion that
proved him to possess what is perhaps
rarer even than great genius-a great
heart He looked over my poor little
drawings, encouraged me to persevere
and then, after / became private IN
the French army, he never lost sight or
me- Indeed, it was owing to his infiu-
ence that 1 was finally appointed to
work at the War Office among those
whose duty it is to prepare drawings Of
uniforms mad soon. M. Detaille's kind
ness did not stop there; he gave me
some valuable advice. Instead of pro-
posing that l should become stu
dent in some art school-a coursswhich
would have been from every point of
view impossible to me at that time,
even had l wished 1.-THE told me to
study from life, and not to be discour-
aged, however poor might be the re-
suit; and SO, no sooner did L IND my
self in the guardroom of the one Hun
dred and Thirteenth Line Regiment
than l began following my masters ad-
vice in season and out of season. Not
till l became attached to the War Of
flee, however, did 1 find time to do
work with view to publication. TO
my surprise, l found aready if humble,
market for my wares, and it was then
that 1 first signed my drawings Caran
d'Ache, which, as you may know, sig
nifies in Russian lead pencil My first
great stroke ofs,luck was undoubtedly
the production of 1Epopee' at the Chat
Noir"
LAS to what suggested TEpopee.
he added, that was a very simple
matter A friend asked me to design
an illustrated cover for a comic song.
attempted TO carry out my idea by
an application of the old-fashioned
silhouette Suddenly it struck me that
my initial idea was capable of amending
DEVELOPMENTS l threw myself with
ardor into the work and as the result
of hundreds of experiments finally pro-
duced the leading scenes of the great
Napoleonic drama, carefully divided
into thirty tableaus The whole was
engineered, as 1t were, with the help
of four thousand figures and horses,
each of which was entirely evolved and
produced by me, first drawn, then cut
out and pasted on zinc leaf, which,
when once more silhouetted, produced
sentient member of my large dramatic
company. The whole work from be-
ginning to end was entirely carried out
by me. 1 need hardly say that I was
fortunate in finding a man who under
stood at once the possibilities which
lay in this very novel type of moving
tableaus. Had it not been for the pro-
prietor of the Chat Noir, all my labors
might have come to nothing. However,
thanks to him 1 had my chance. The
whole action took place across COM
tended every performance and stage
managed the whole affair myself. l
think I may say" he added modestly.
that I succeeded in creating very
vivid impression of life and movement.
Each detail of every little figure was
carefully studied, as were those OF Ma
poleon l. himself and l made many
experiments before felt even half-sat-
isfied with the result. The most strik-
ing, and also the most popular tab
leau, was undoubtedly The Retreat
From Russia for a curiously impress
slve effect was produced by the slow
passage in single file of countless men,
horses, wagons and carriages across the
great snowbound plains.
Il work very slowly, and so far L
have preferred to draw in line. Apropos
of black and-white work, l am an en-
thusiastic admirer of your leading
English draughtsmen. l have long
been familiar with the work OF Phil
May, Linley Sambourne, Dudley Hardy
but it is invidious to mention certain
names when there are so many now
turning out black and-white work full
of genius and originality Of course,
from my point of view, artists should
be able to draw anything. AS to my
self" he added, laughing. II leave one
branch of art severely alone; that is
portrait painting. Friends have often
asked me to draw them; If ever / at
tempt to carry out their wishes they
are anything but pleased with the re-
suit You see, the worst of it is |
really see people in line, and often
u L. r