A black and white illustration of a man dressed in formal attire and top hat, closely examining a large sheet of paper while standing in shallow water in a forest.

Honoré Daumier

Where Reading The Constitutionnel Might Take You! (Où Peut Conduire La Lecture du Constitutionnel!)

Maker

Honoré Daumier (French, 1808-1879), printmaker

Title

Where Reading The Constitutionnel Might Take You! (Où Peut Conduire La Lecture du Constitutionnel!)
from the series Pastorales

Year

1845

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

lithograph

Supports

Dimensions

Plate/Image: 25.9 x 21.6 cm (10 3/16 x 8 1/2 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Marks: collection stamp in black ink on verso:BLISS in oval.Lugt 265.F. E. Bliss; Signed, on image, LR: h.D.; Written, in graphite, on image, LL: H.vO.2223.I

Identification

State

1st of 2

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

27.171

Type

Exhibition History

Process Work
Intersections of Photography and Print ca. 1825 to Today
Feb 01, 2025 – Jul 20, 2025

Label copy

As depicted in these two prints made in 1845 by Honoré Daumier, new magazine and newspaper formats in the mid-1800s forced readers to adapt their reading habits. Steam-powered presses increased the speed of production, while new developments in paper-making increased the size of newsprint sheets. The effect on consumers was not only physical but psychological: the increased flow of information often overwhelmed readers in ways that are still familiar to us today. 

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Honoré Daumier (French, 1808-1879), printmaker
Where Reading The Constitutionnel Might Take You! (Où Peut Conduire La Lecture du Constitutionnel!); from the series Pastorales, 1845
Lithograph on paper
Plate/Image: 25.9 x 21.6 cm (10 3/16 x 8 1/2 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 27.171

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