Jean-Louis-Auguste Commerson


Jean-Louis-Auguste Commerson was a 19th-century French writer, journalist and playwright.

Short biography

A specialist of puns and journalistic "canards", Commerson wrote many humorous books, including Pensées d'un emballeur pour faire suite aux « Maximes » de François de La Rochefoucauld, Un million de bouffonneries, Le Petit Tintamarre , La Petite Encyclopédie bouffonne and Un million de chiquenaudes et menus propos tirés de la Gazette de Merluchon.
He also authored comédies en vaudevilles, alone or in collaboration, and established the periodical Le Tam-tam.
He signed most of his works of his surname but only occasionally used the pen names Joseph-Prudhomme and Joseph Citrouillard.

Works

Theatre

Texts

  • 1922: Les Plaisirs de la ville, poèmes dédiés aux jolies femmes
  • 1825: Contes et Nouvelles
  • 1825: Hommage à La Fayette
  • 1851: Pensées d'un emballeur pour faire suite aux « Maximes » de La Rochefoucauld, foreword by Théodore de Banville. Reprint : Garnier, 1978.
  • 1854: Le Code civil dévoilé, dédié aux emballeurs, aux réfugiés polonais et aux gardes nationaux sans ouvrage et notamment aux licenciés de l'École de droit, pour cause d'incapacité notoire
  • 1854: Rêveries d'un étameur, pour faire suite aux pensées de Blaise Pascal
  • 1854: Un million de bouffonneries, ou Le Blagorama français
  • 1854–1855: Les Binettes contemporaines, par Joseph Citrouillard, reviewed by Commerson, to compete with those of Eugène de Mirecourt, portraits by Nadar, 10 vol., 1854–1855
  • 1857: Le Petit Tintamarre, humorous weekly
  • 1858: Lettre d'un vieux fou à un jeune sage
  • 1860: Petite encyclopédie bouffonne
  • c.1880: ''Un million de chiquenaudes et menus propos tirés de la « Gazette de Merluchon »''

Newspapers

Le Tam-tam, magazine hebdomadaire de littérature, d'arts, de sciences et d'industrie was a newspaper published by Commerson from 1835. It would change titles several times during its publication: Le Tam-tam républicain, organe des clubs ; Le Tam-tam de 1848.
Jean-Baptiste Dalès called Dalès ainé collaborated with this paper which is sometimes called "former Tam-Tam" to distinguish it from two other publications by Commerson:
  • Le Tam-tam, revue critique des Polichinels politiques, financiers, religieux et autres by Napoléon Citrouillard, specimen issue 10 March 1871 ;
  • Le Tam-tam..., 1872-1877.

Quote

According to Jacques Rouvière, the sentence "Cities should be built in the country, the air is healthier"", generally attributed to Alphonse Allais, is to be found in the Pensées d'un emballeur by Commerson. In fact, it seems that this joke already was in Le Pamphlet provisoire illustré.