The bailiff
1905
Fernand Louis Gottlob’s 1905 caricature 'L’Huissier' (The Bailiff) captures a grumpy man in a top hat and long coat, clutching a folder of papers. But the real story is in his shadow, which looms behind him shaped like a vulture's beak—a cheeky nod to how bailiffs were seen as predatory figures swooping in to collect debts. The caption at the bottom is a brilliant pun: the bailiff complains he has no 'costume' for a party, despite performing a century of 'exploits' (the French legal term for a bailiff's official acts) to deserve one. This piece is a classic example of the sharp, satirical illustrations that made the magazine L'Assiette au Beurre so famous.