"Monsieur Cécil Rhodes" (Le Rire cover, 1900)

Colour cover caricature of a heavy-jowled Cecil Rhodes leaning on the barred top of a stone tower, a champagne bottle stuffed in his collar, a small flag on a pole behind him and a paper reading 'actions mines d'or diamants' in his fist. The caption calls him 'Chamberlain's accomplice' who will have shed more blood in Africa than champagne at Kimberley: a loaded label plus grotesque props do the accusing.

Date: February 17, 1900
Period: Pre-1914
Made by: Le Rire (Paris satirical weekly); cartoonist Charles Léandre
Region: Western and Central Europe
Country: France
Medium: Cartoon
Issuer type: Media
Regime: Waldeck Rousseau Government
Leader: Pierre Waldeck Rousseau
Audience: Domestic public
Purpose: Demonize
Themes: Empire and colonialism, War and the military, Economy and finance
Event: Second Boer War
Techniques: Name-calling
Source: Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, retrieved September 29, 2026
Rights: Public domain (published 1900; artist d. 1934; LOC rights status 'not evaluated')
Charles Léandre, Le Rire, no. 276, Paris, 17 February 1900, cover. Library of Congress, LC-USZC2-593 (Illus. in AP103.R4 1900, Case X).

Text on the object

Original (French) · read from the image, not independently checked

N° 276. 6e année. 17 Février 1900.
15 centimes.
Le Rire
JOURNAL HUMORISTIQUE PARAISSANT LE SAMEDI
M. Félix JUVEN, Directeur. — Partie artistique : M. Arsène ALEXANDRE
La reproduction des dessins du RIRE est absolument interdite aux publications, françaises ou étrangères, sans autorisation
10, rue Saint-Joseph, 10 PARIS
Les manuscrits et dessins non insérés ne sont pas rendus.
LE GOTHA DU RIRE. — N° XXVIII    Monsieur CÉCIL RHODES
actions mines d'or DIAMANTS [on the paper in his hand]
CHAMPAG[NE] CHARTER[ED] C° [on the bottle label, partly hidden]
C. Léandre 1900 [signature, left]
Le complice de Chamberlain aura fait verser plus de sang en Afrique que de champagne à Kimberley.
Dessin de Ch. LÉANDRE.
[subscription-price lines at left of masthead: Un an : Paris, 8 fr. Départements, 9 fr. Étranger, 11 fr. Six mois : France, 5 fr. Étranger, 6 fr.]

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

No. 276. 6th year. 17 February 1900.
15 centimes.
Le Rire
HUMOROUS JOURNAL APPEARING ON SATURDAYS
Mr. Félix JUVEN, Director. — Art department: Mr. Arsène ALEXANDRE
Reproduction of the drawings of RIRE is absolutely forbidden to publications, French or foreign, without authorisation
10, rue Saint-Joseph, 10 PARIS
Manuscripts and drawings not published are not returned.
THE GOTHA OF LE RIRE. — No. XXVIII    Mr. CECIL RHODES
shares gold mines DIAMONDS [on the paper in his hand]
CHAMPAG[NE] CHARTER[ED] CO [on the bottle label, partly hidden]
C. Léandre 1900 [signature, left]
Chamberlain's accomplice will have caused more blood to be shed in Africa than champagne at Kimberley.
Drawing by Ch. LÉANDRE.
[subscription-price lines: One year: Paris 8 fr., provinces 9 fr., abroad 11 fr. Six months: France 5 fr., abroad 6 fr.]

Small masthead print read from a 1.5x enlargement; the bottle label is cut off by the collar and is read as CHAMPAG / CHARTER / C°.