Mister Vulture
J. J. Grandville French
Not on view
In 1839, the editor Pierre-Jules Hetzel conceived of a book project expressly as a vehicle for J. J. Grandville’s illustrations. A collection of short stories by a variety of authors, "Scènes de la vie privée et publique des animaux: Etudes de mœurs contemporaines," (Scenes from the private and public life of animals: Studies of contemporary customs) offers a satirical critique of human society from the point of view of animals. In the first story, a hare finds lodging with a lowly government clerk. Here, Grandville depicts the poor clerk’s landlord, a portly Mr. Vulture, who clutches a rent receipt in his hand. The locked coffer at lower right also signals the greed of the property owner.
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