Mead Schaeffer

Charles Martignette, Hallandale Beach, Florida

Acquired from the above in February 1991 by the present owner

Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, New York, 1925, pp. 126-27, illustrated in color

The present work was published as an illustration for Victor Hugo’s 1892 novel Les Misérables in a 1925 edition by Dodd, Mead & Company. Hugo’s classic French novel follows ex-convict Jean Valjean’s quest for redemption as he’s pursued by the relentless Inspector Javert. Along the way, Valjean cares for the orphan Cosette amid poverty and political turmoil in 19th-century France, revealing a powerful story of love, justice, and the struggle for freedom.

The present scene corresponds to the third chapter of Volume II, “Fulfillment of the Promise Made to the Departed.” Set on Christmas Eve in 1823, it depicts the inn run by the Thénardiers, the cruel caretakers of Cosette, in Montfermeil on the outskirts of Paris.  Captioned “Several men were seated at [the] table around four or five candles in the low hall of the Thénardier tavern,” Schaeffer captures the moment before Valjean’s first encounter with Cosette, as Monsieur Thénardier socializes with his guests and discusses politics.