Hang 'em high!

... or should we sell them old books?

The catalogue of a sale dedicated to the French revolutionary movements of the 19th century features both a contemporary poster on the cover: Shall We Hang the Landlords?, and an advertising for two modern properties worth several millions dollars. Looks like the poorman's dreams of the 19th century end up in the rich man's properties of the 21st century.

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HANG THEM HIGH,

Poor man’s dreams and rich man’s collections

     Just the other day, I came across the catalogue of a very impressive sale that took place in Droutot in December 2012. I noticed a peculiar detail about it, that made me laugh—a bittersweet laughter I must say. This sale was held by the famous Pierre Bergé Auction House and was entitled Utopistes & Révoltés (Utopists & Rebellious). It listed 249 items from Jean-Pierre Faur’s impressive collection about La Commune. Now, La Commune is a very special period in French history. From March to May 1871, the people of Paris rebelled against the legitimate government that had just surrendered to the Prussians to whom France had declared war the previous year.  For two months, desperate and determined citizens fought the police in the streets of the capital with a rare fierceness. The repression was terrible, women and children were executed alongside men—but they were amongst the first ones to fight. To make it short, this event known as La Commune has become the cradle of French utopia, the ultimate reference to any serious anarchist.

     A lot of stories are still told about these glorious days of guerrilla, such as this young boy who was running in the street carrying a Molotov Cocktail when a woman called for him: “Don’t go this way,

Louise Michel

my son,” she said. “The police are up the street.” The young boy smiled at her: “Then, that’s exactly where I want to go!” His body was later recovered on the sidewalk. This sale featured incredible documents related to this movement, including a copy of the rare Hurrah !!! ou la Révolution par les Cosaques (Londres, octobre 1854). The author, Ernest Coeurderoy, was an apocalyptic soul who could not accept the failure of the revolution of 1848 and who eventually committed suicide in Geneva. His book is considered as a corner stone of the rebellious spirit of the century. The appraisal was 5,000-6,000 euros.  Some gorgeous posters from “La Commune” were also featured, which demonstrate how the people had organised themselves, free from any government. One of the most striking items remains the 119 original photographs compiled by the police to identify the rebels! They are beautiful by themselves, showing some dark people staring at the camera, wearing old-fashioned clothes. There’s something violent about them, some tension coming from these people. The policemen wrote some lines besides the portraits:  “Tall and fat, limping because of pains in his back”, and the names of the “Communards” over the photographs. “Unique and very rare,” reads the catalogue. Estimated between 8,000 and 10,000 euros, I bet it went for more than that.  Another compilation of portraits (all dating from the late 19^th century) features those of several female “Communardes”, including the iconic Louise Michel who became famous for allegedly throwing Molotov Cocktails at the police from her motorcycle!

     This catalogue is fascinating, these items are a moving testimony of a failing utopia (it ended up in a bloodbath), as well as the symbol of proud people who decided to die as Men rather than to die as animals. They were poor people, suffering from a ruthless system that was exploiting them, exploiting their children and preventing them from ever escaping their condition. Their world was clearly divided between the haves and the haves-not and they definitely belonged to the second category. But they decided to stand against it. Regular French citizens nowadays owe them a lot for living this far better life—so, in a way, their fight was not useless.

Back to our catalogue: for the front cover, the auction house chose a striking poster published during La Commune. It is very explicit: “Shall We Hang Landlords? No more landlords, no more rent. Evil.” Ironically enough, the same catalogue ends up on a two-page advertising for an estate agency specialized in luxurious properties. If it communicates in these pages, it is because of the rich people who attended this sale to buy the remains of a poor man’s dream, La Commune. The ad shows two houses, one in Britain worth a million euros, the other one in Neuilly (one of the most expensive suburbs of Paris) worth 4,5 million euros. I slowly closed the catalogue, reading the explosive title again: “Shall We Hang Landlords?” Of course, we are talking about history. Of course, we are far from the days of La Commune and reality is often more complex than it first appears. Nevertheless, I could not help thinking that the poster displayed on the front cover might have ended up in one of these houses... and that some of these guys on the photographs would have gladly hung high the guys who buy their portrait today.

© Thibault Ehrengardt