Absinthe: The first glass, the sixth glass, from 'The Chinese of Paris," published in Le Charivari, December 22, 1863

Step into a Parisian café of the 1860s with Aaron Martinet's "Absinthe: The first glass, the sixth glass." This lithograph, originally published in the satirical French newspaper *Le Charivari*, offers a stark visual commentary on the effects of absinthe, the potent green liqueur popular in 19th-century France. Martinet, a prolific caricaturist for *Le Charivari* in the mid-19th century, frequently used his art to capture and critique contemporary society, as seen in his numerous other works from the same period, often depicting scenes from everyday Parisian life, social customs, and political events. Here, he employs a sequential narrative, a common device in print media of the era, to illustrate a gradual decline. The title itself, drawn from the series 'The Chinese of Paris,' hints at a broader theme of exoticism or perhaps a critical view of foreign influences, though the immediate focus is on the individual's experience. This piece serves as both a social document and a moralistic tale, reflecting anxieties about public health and moral decay linked to alcohol consumption.