Salão comico. Caricaturas de F. Valença, 1902.

Lisbon, Lith. de Portugal, 1902.. FIRST and ONLY EDITION. Oblong 8°, original illustrated wrappers (very light toning and minor chipping), stapled. Illustrated throughout with line drawings. Overall in very good condition. (6 ll.) *** FIRST and ONLY EDITION. Clever caricatures of paintings exhibited in the Lisbon Salon of 1902: a fascinating prequel to the series Catalogo comico da Exposição de Belas-Artes, which Valença and Carlos Simões published from 1914-1919 and 1923-1924. Valença was only 20 years old at the time, and had begun his career barely 2 years earlier, as director of O Chinelo with Simões and André Brun. The final page includes heads of 9 "Visitantes e expositores." The brief captions are not attributed to an author.Francisco Valença (1882–1962) was perhaps the most important twentieth-century Portuguese caricaturist. The article on him in the Grande enciclopédia portuguesa e brasileira notes that Valença was renowned in Portugal and abroad, comparing him to Bordalo Pinheiro, one of the geniuses of the art of caricature: "Durante toda a sua vida tem constantemente enriquecido com os seus desenhos não só inúmeras páginas da grande maioria dos jornais e revistas de Portugal, como também de França, de Espanha e do Brasil. É, tanto pela extensão da sua obra, como pela sua intenção artística e social, um dos maiores caricaturistas portugueses depois de Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro, com o qual tem grandes afinidades...."Valença began his career in 1900, as director of O Chinelo, which he founded with André Brun and writer Carlos Simões. Valença also founded Salão cómico (1902); Varões assinalados (1909-1911 - winner of the “Grand Prix” in the Rio de Janeiro exposition of 1922-1923); and O Moscardo (1913). His work appeared in the following newspapers, journals, and reviews: A Comédia portuguesa (1902); Brasil-Portugal (1902-1909); Suplemento humorístico do Século (1904-1908); Novidades (1907); Ilustração portuguesa (1906-1920); Tiro e sport (1906-1911); Arte musical (1907-1908); Alma nacional (1910); A Sátira (1911); Eco artístico (1914-1915); O teatro (1922-1923); Diário de notícias (the New York Times of Portugal; 1919-1924, 1930); O Mundo (1918-1924); Eco Artístico (1914-1915); De Teatro (1922-1923); República (1918); Ilustração (1926); Sempre fixe (for 30 years, starting in 1926); Alma nova (1922-1925); Portucale (Porto, 1930). He was artistic director of the weekly O Espectro (1925). Abroad, his work appeared in Rire (Paris); Boletin Fermé (Barcelona); and many newspapers and reviews in Rio de Janeiro. Valença’s illustrations appeared in numerous special Christmas issues of the Diário de Notícias and the Comércio do Porto. He illustrated books for Emília de Sousa Costa, Julieta Ferrão, Alfredo França, Armando Ferreira, Augusto Cunha, Cruz Magalhães, Henrique Marques Junior, Luís Chaves, Magalhães Lima, Tomás de Eça Leal, and others.Original examples of Valença’s work are in the collections of the Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon; the Museu de Bragança; the Museu Municipal, Porto; the Museu Soares dos Reis, Porto; and the Getty Research Institute.*** See also Grande enciclopedia XXXIII, 880 and Pamplona, Dicionário de pintores e escultores portugueses [1987-88] V, 310. Not located in Porbase. Not located in Jisc.