Plik:La walse (BM 1868,0822.7243 1).jpg

Height: 201 millimetres

Width: 254 millimetres

The series 'Le Bon Genre' was published over a long period of time, and was one of the many series masterminded by the great entrepreneur in this field, La Mésangère. The best account is by Annemarie Kleinert, 'Le Journal des Dames et des Modes ou la conquête de l'Europe féminine', Stuttgart, 2001, p.356 and passim. It began in April 1800; it is first recorded in the 'Bibliographie de France' with plate 34 on 7 May 1812. It continued until no.104 in 1817, when La Mésangère re-issued all 104 plates with a 29 pp. text (now very rare) that gives the date of publication of each print and comments on its content. He then carried on and issued 11 new plates, numbered from 105-115, between 1818 and 1822. These are all by Gatine after designs by Lanté. The plates, if they carry anything, only give an address at rue Monmartre 132. The entire series was re-issued with text in 1822 by Crapelet, and again in 1827 by Vassal & Essling.

The plates were issued singly, without any text, and were designed by various artists whose names were not given on the plates: Carle and Horace Vernet; Debucourt, Isabey, Dutailly, Bosio, Garneray; there were two engravers Schenker and Gatine. Uniform early sets are excessively rare. The group of impressions in the BM has been put together from a number of sources. Most were bound in the album 169.e.9 in the BM in the XIXc; a few extra plates are kept separately with the main series of satires by year. The BM collection lacks only plates 105, 109-10 and 113-5. The texts of the plates are given by Vicaire I pp.839-44. For a complete listing of the 115 plates, see Colas 2238-9. Some of the plates that he lists were later replaced by new ones, including all those designed by Bosio.