Heading: (Aviation – 1908 French caricature of Wilbur Wright)
Author:
Title: Issue of Le Rire, Journal Humoristique with fine color caricature of Wilbur Wright
Place Published: France
Publisher:
Date Published: 3171
Description:

Le Rire, Journal Humoristique… [“The Laugh”, French humor magazine) September 5, 1908.  Text in French. With fine color caricature of “L’Aviateur Wright” by Charles Leandre, with a caption loosely translated as “He flies almost as well as our chickens, but with tougher skin”. The full issue of 14pp.

Handsomely illustrated with color and black-and-white drawings. For years, since the first flight of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, the French press had ridiculed their claim to have invented a successful flying machine – until 1908, when the Wrights shipped a model plane to Europe, with which Wilbur made a series of public demonstrations. An immediate sensation, thousands of Frenchmen flocked to a race track at Le Mans to see Wright take his flying machine aloft.  The Wright brothers instantly became world-famous, their doubters offering profuse apologies and praise. So the cover illustration of this magazine, published a few weeks after Wright’s flight, was probably the very last French caricature of the new American hero, the drawing skillfully executed by Leandre, a distinguished poster artist and one of the leading French caricaturists of early 20th century.

very good