The albums of prints produced during the Franco-Prussian war and the Paris Commune demonstrated the artists’ interest in a range of topics, from the desolation of war to the dire famine suffered by Paris through the period. The illustrators used their continued access to means of publication to disseminate a narrative which could evolve with the events, playing active and important roles in wars of representation.

Alfred Le Petit (1841-1909) produced for the satirical newspaper L’Eclipse a series of 31 caricatures depicting contemporary political figures as “Flowers, fruits, and vegetables”, with humoristic verses by Hippolyte Briollet (1832-1877). Most of the plates were published between January and the end of March 1871.