This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/25/2023
[SWALLOWER] Jacques de Falaise le Polyphage. [Paris: Pierre La Mésangère 1816]. Hand-colored etching from Le Bon Genre, No. 93, picturing the polyphage on a platform before a well-appointed crowd, in the act of swallowing a live mouse, and with a wriggling snake in his other hand. His assistant holds a sword, likely to be part of his hearty repast. Framed to 15 ¼ x 16 ¾”, sight 9 ½ x 11 ¼”. De Falaise (Jacques Simon, 1754 – 1825), sometimes referred to as the “human piggy bank,” swallowed nearly anything in his sight, including live birds, crabs, eels, mice, pipes, and even pocket change. He was hired by conjurer Louis Comte in 1816 to perform as part of the magician’s company. De Falaise committed suicide in 1825.