Object of the Day, Museum Edition: Le Canard a Trois Becs, 1871

Le Canard a Trois Becs
H. Xiat, 1871
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Published in 1871 in Paris, France, this print features a satirical caricature by the artist H. Nérac (also known as H. Xiat) which depicts a duck with three heads. Each head is labeled, in order, “Comite Central,” “Internationale,” and “Commune.” The duck is saddled with a flaming torch which is tied to his body by a red sash.

The print is from a set of caricatures, broadsheets and illustrations in ten volumes printed in France by Jailly and Co. Many of them, like this one, are hand-colored.

An inscription reads:

COMMUNEUX PAR H. NÉRAC.
LE CANARD A TROIS BECS
TABLEAU DE FAMILLE 

The basis of the joke is a visual pun wherein the word “canard” takes a double meaning. It is French for “duck,” but can also refer to a hoax. Three conflicting political figures are uncomfortably crowded onto the body of one duck.