Les Guepes (The Wasp) was published by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr between 1839 and 1876. Karr [1808–1890)] “was a French critic, journalist, and novelist. In 1839 he became the editor of Le Figaro, to which he had been a constant contributor; and he also started a monthly journal, Les Guepes, of a keenly satirical tone, a publication which brought him the reputation of a somewhat bitter wit. His epigrams are frequently quoted, for example "plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose" — "the more it changes, the more it's the same thing", usually translated as "the more things change, the more they stay the same," (Les Guêpes, January 1849). On the proposal to abolish capital punishment, "je veux bien que messieurs les assassins commencent" — "let the gentlemen who do the murders take the first step".
All of these books have paper covers. The books measure approximately 3.75”x5.5” with about 95 pages in each. There are line illustrations of wasps repeated throughout. Some of the books like the January 1941 edition have pages that were excised and and replaced by censors with a page that “page salie par le gouvernement”.
