Le Petit Journal – 27 Décembre, 1896 Supplément Illustré no. 319 [with original colour frontispiece:] Les Héros de la Patrie – Dupleix, conquérant des Indes [The Heroes of the Homeland – Dupleix, Conqueror of the Indies]

Description

pp. 410-416, with frontispiece of The French Governor of India “Dupleix” and article on p. 413. Original colour rear page “Christchild at Christmas”.

This conservative French daily newspaper, founded by Moise Polydore Millaud, was published in Paris from 1863 to 1944. By 1890, under the new owner Marinoni, its circulation reached 1 million, 5 years later 2 million, making it the world’s largest newspaper, made possible by the high speed rotary presses installed in 1872. The Supplément illustré, a weekly Sunday supplement that was the first to feature colour illustrations was introduced in 1889 and reached a circulation of 1 million copies. By 1900, the paper’s growth stunted. Many of its readers had shifted to Le Petit Parisien which became France’s best-selling newspaper. By 1919, it had fallen to 400,000; the final issue was published in 1944. It lies in the nature of newspapers that very few examples survive years, much less decades or a Century – hence their rarity.