"Chaud! Chaud!..." - Plate 38 from the Robert Macaire "Caricaturana" series.

Honore Daumier

The charlatan character "Robert Macaire" was based on the melodrama "L'Auberge des Adrets" and was adapted to print by Charivari publisher Philipon. Daumier did a series of prints based on his exploits.

A book 'Physiologie du Robert-Macaire' (1842) written by Pierre-Joseph Rousseau (1797–1849) and illustrated by Honoré Daumier, identified Macaire with a variety of contemporary social types, all involved in "shady schemes for instant wealth", and especially Émile de Girardin (1806-1881), a businessman who promoted his financial adventures through his own newspaper, La Presse.

"Caricaturana" is a series of 100 lithographs, accompanying various texts by Charles Philipon and published by Philipon's brother-in-law Gabriel Aubert, that appeared in the publication "Charivari" between August, 1836 and November, 1838.

The caption of this print reads translates roughly from the French to: "Hot stuff! Hot stuff! Must bolster our sales, Bertrand, must beat the big drum, make a display, draw the attention of the mug. It's hot! It's hot! Attack ourselves in the papers, write, reply to ourselves, retort, insult ourselves and above all advertise ourselves... --You believe the public hasn't the key to such bunkum? --Forget that, it's like our locks, everybody has the key except the public."