DAUMIER, H. - Voyons témoin il serait important de nous faire le détail exact et complet de l'emploi de votre journée du 12 Avril dernier?..

Second state (of 2), with text, numbered 17. From "Les Gens de Justice", published " Chez Auber & Cie, Pl. de la Bourse,29".
Translated text below image :
- Come now, witness, you must tell us exactly what happened on April 12 last year....
- but Sir, this is 9 months ago..
- never mind that , tell us anyway!

Around the mid-1840s Daumier started publishing his famous caricatures depicting members of the legal profession, known as 'Les Gens de Justice', a scathing satire about judges, defendants, attorneys and corrupt, greedy lawyers in general. A number of extremely rare albums appeared on white paper, covering 39 different legal themes, of which 37 had previously been published in the Charivari. It is said that Daumier's own experience as an employee in a bailiff's office during his youth may have influenced his rather negative attitude towards the legal profession.

Known chiefly as a political and social satirist, Honoré DAUMIER (1808-1879) used the printmaking process of lithography, still relatively new at the time, to contribute cartoons and caricatures to French news weeklies.