Félix Buhot (1847-1898 )La Place des Martyrs and the Taverne du Bagne. 1885. Etching, drypoint and soft varnish. 449 x 340. Bourcard-Goodfriend 163. Very nice proof printed in bistré black on heavy vellum, stamped (Lugt 977). Insulation of the sheet and small marginal traces of oxidation. A few broken folds in the right margin. Small holes and snags at the edges of the sheet. Nice margins. Maxime Lisbon (1839-1905) is an unusual character from the Montmartre mound: he joined the navy as a young man, took part in the Crimean War, the Italian and Syrian campaigns. In 1870, during the events of the Commune, he was appointed colonel in the National Guard and lost a leg defending the barricades. In 1872, the Versailles people sentenced him to death, a sentence which was commuted to hard labour for life and earned him exile to the penal colony in New Caledonia. The amnesty of 1880 allowed him to return to Paris. Oscillating between various activities (theatre, journalism), he inaugurated his Taverne du Bagne at 2, boulevard de Clichy on 6 October 1885. The picturesque setting drew crowds: the waiters were dressed in convict's clothing and dragged a (false) ball and chain around their feet. The cabaret was broadcasting its Gazette du Bagne. After six months, the concession granted to Lisbon by the City of Paris expired and he moved his establishment to 12, rue de Belleville. He then made a series of unsuccessful attempts.