J P Pinchon

Émile-Joseph Pinchon  (17/4/1871 - 20/6/1953, France)

Émile-Joseph Porphyre Pinchon started painting at an early age and became the pupil of Cormon and Albert Besnard. His work was exposed in the yearly salon of the National Art Society in 1893. For financial reasons, he decided to become an illustrator for the press, and his first drawings appeared in the Petit Journal de la Jeunesse in 1904. His most important comic work is 'Bécassine', which he started in the first issue of the magazine Semaine de Suzette in 1905, from a scenario by Caumery (pseudonym of Maurice Languereau). This series, which appeared in a collection in 1913 by publisher Gautier-Languereau, became an enormous success.

Pinchon also worked for other magazines, such as Le Saint Nicolas, l'Écho de Paris and La France, creating the comic 'Frimousset' together with writer Jaboune, in 1920. Until the Second World War, he worked for the children's magazine Benjamin, where he created 'La Famille Amulette' and 'Grassouillet', again with Jaboune. After the war, Pinchon started a collaboration with Belgian magazine Wrill (besides continuing stories for several other magazines), for which he created comics like 'Gilles du Maquis', 'Gringalou', 'Olive et Bengali', 'Suzel' and many others.

Émile-Joseph Pinchon was one of the pioneers of French-Belgian comic artists, working in a pure and realistic style. His style inspired the later Ligne Clair, of which Hergé was one of the most important representatives. Pinchon died in 1953, but is not forgotten: in 1988, the museum of Noyon dedicated a large scale exhibition to his memory.

This series of map postcards of the départements of France and the arrondissements of Paris were produced immediately after the Second World War in 1945 and published by Blondel la Rougery in Paris.