Parody on the Wandering Jew - Collection of Short Stories to Familiarize Oneself with the Character of the ...

Parody on the Wandering Jew - Collection of Short Stories to Familiarize Oneself with the Character of the "Wandering Jew". Paris, 1844 - First Edition

Parodie du juif errant - "Parody on the Wandering Jew" by Charles Philipon and Louis Huart - a collection of short stories in which the Wandering Jew is incorporated as a foolish, evil, and ridiculous character. The book is accompanied by no less than 300 caricatures-wood engravings, mocking the Wandering Jew and accompanying the short stories that appear in ten parts. Each part has a separate title page. Published by Aubert Et Cie, Editeurs, Paris 1844 - first edition - a copy in perfect condition.

A collection of short stories in which the Wandering Jew is presented as the evil and ridiculous character in the story, written in a sarcastic tone, usually intended for the reader to complete the story himself after being provided with the description of the Jew's behavior. In the stories, the Jew arrives in remote places with almost no human settlement, and appears as a two faced character who interferes in the affairs of people there as a harmful creature, among other things he even manages to deceive the devil, and all the time he walks, walks, and walks and never stops walking. In the illustrations in the book, he is sometimes depicted with stereotypical features with a long nose, or as a skull face, in some of the stories he is illustrated with a long beard that covers the entire face of the skeleton whose bones protrude and even his figure is described: "He is fair, his hair is blond, his eyes are blind, his nose is a knife tip, and his cheekbones are a little protruding...". Each time his form changes according to the area to which he arrives. In the East he is depicted as a dark skinned figure, in the North as a European figure, etc., when he gets into trouble he hears the voice ordering him to "walk". People's lives without the Jew are peaceful, and each time he emerges from nowhere and causes trouble. This is one of the earliest publications combining countless caricatures in sequence depicting the Wandering Jew, which is not a journal.

The authors Charles Philipon (1800-1862), Louis Huart (1813-1865) and the illustrator Amédée Charles Henri de Noé all worked for the satirical magazine "Charivari", in which the short stories first appeared as a serial in ten issues.

345 [1] p. 18 cm. Original half leather and marble binding with gilt lettering on spine. Elevated spine straps. Very good condition.