M. Salabert

M. Salabert was a mid-1800s printmaker whose dry wit cut through the stuffy Parisian art world. She carved tiny, sneaky jokes into plates meant for book illustrations, think a cat wearing a bishop’s hat or a monkey counting coins. Her prints feel like early memes: sharp, shareable, and just as funny today.

Look up her H Beard Print Collection to see why 19th-century readers kept these tucked in their pockets like contraband.