Affaire Bola-Pacha, 68 Croquis d'Audience par Sem

1918. [Paris: S.n., c. 1918]. [Paris: S.n., c. 1918]. Sem's Account of a Notable Treason Trial [Trial]. Sem [Gorsat (Goursat), Georges (1863-1934)]. Bolo, Paul [d. 1918], Defendant. Affaire Bola-Pacha: 68 Croquis d'Audience par Sem. [Paris: S.n., c. 1918]. 68 lithographic images on 24 sheets and a sheet of captions in a printed wrapper housed in a printed folder. 12-1/2" x 10." From a signed edition of 300 on Arches paper, this number 283. Light soiling and edgewear to outer folder, a few minor tears along fold lines, short minor tear to spine of inner folder, light stain to caption sheet, plates fine. $1,750. * The Bolo Pasha affair involved a French traitor, Paul Bolo, who convinced the Egyptian Khedive (Viceroy), Abbas Hilmi, to sponsor an anti-war movement in France through the press using $2,500,000 raised from German sources. (Granted the title Pasha by the Khedive, Bolo renamed himself Bolo Pasha.) Convicted of treason, he was executed by a firing squad in April 1918. Sem's caricatures portray the judge, defendant, witnesses and judges at various points in the trial. Gorsat, or Goursat, was a French caricaturist and illustrator active from the late nineteenth century to 1934. His lasting fame rests on his depictions of French ruling class and French high society during the Belle Epoque. He was a regular contributor to the leading French periodicals, produced albums of caricatures depicting current events and social life and designed several path-breaking advertisements. His work is highly esteemed today.