''L'Opinion publique'' was a weekly illustrated magazine published in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
from 1870 to 1883 by
George-Édouard Desbarats George-Édouard-Amable Desbarats (5 April 1838 – 18 February 1893) was an influential Canadian printer and inventor.
Life and career
The Desbarats were an established printing family. The first of the family to settle was Joseph Desbarats f ...
. It is considered to be the first French-language
illustrated newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports an ...
in Canada.
History
''L'Opinion publique'' was founded in Montreal by George-Édouard Desbarats,
Laurent-Olivier David
Laurent-Olivier David (March 24, 1840 – August 24, 1926) was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician.
Born in Sault-au-Récollet, Montreal, Quebec, the son of Stanislas David and Élisabeth Tremblay, David was educated at the Petit Sémi ...
, and
Joseph-Alfred Mousseau. It was originally intended to be non-partisan, but nonetheless defend the rights of francophones.
The first issue was published on January 1, 1870. At first it was published weekly on Saturdays, but from April 28, 1870, it published on Thursdays. ''L'Opinion publique'' was the French-language counterpart to ''
Canadian Illustrated News
The ''Canadian Illustrated News'' was a weekly Canadian illustrated magazine published in Montreal from 1869 to 1883. It was published by George Desbarats.
The magazine was notable for being the first in the world to consistently produce photog ...
'', also produced by George-Édouard Desbarats in Montreal. For these two publications, he collaborated with
William Leggo
William Augustus Leggo (25 January 1830 – 21 July 1915) was a Canadians, Canadian inventor, engraving, engraver and businessperson. He is noted for co-inventing the half-tone engraver with George-Édouard Desbarats. He had several patents to ...
, inventor of "leggotype", a technique that allows halftone printing from a photograph; Leggo and Desbarats held the patent jointly. The ''Canadian Illustrated News'' had the reputation for being the first magazine in the world that could make, week after week, good reproductions of photographs; the first print it published using this technique, of Prince Arthur, attracted considerable attention when it was published in the October 30, 1869 edition of the magazine.
This technology met the needs of Desbarats, who advocated that images are "the most direct and most sure way to reach the mind."
Despite the similarities of the two journals - some illustrations and sometimes the same content from the ''Canadian Illustrated News'' were reused in ''L'Opinion publique'' ''-'' the two weeklies were independent and the journalists and collaborators were different.
During the first years of its activity, the newspaper, under the direction of
Laurent-Olivier David
Laurent-Olivier David (March 24, 1840 – August 24, 1926) was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician.
Born in Sault-au-Récollet, Montreal, Quebec, the son of Stanislas David and Élisabeth Tremblay, David was educated at the Petit Sémi ...
, had nationalist and liberal tendencies, which went against the original intention to be neutral. He thus left the paper at the end of 1873 to eliminate the idea that the paper was taking a political position. Oscar Dunn then replaced
Joseph-Alfred Mousseau.
In 1875, because of financial problems and for the sake of retaining its readership, ''L'Opinion publique'' essentially became a cultural magazine. Even though political subjects were no longer frequently discussed, collaborations with
Henri-Raymond Casgrain
Henri-Raymond Casgrain (December 16, 1831 – February 11, 1904) was a French Canadian Roman Catholic priest, author, publisher, and professor of history.
Life
Born in Rivière-Ouelle, Lower Canada, the son Charles-Eusèbe Casgrain and Eliza ...
,
Joseph Tassé
Joseph Tassé (23 October 1848 – 17 January 1895) was a Canadian writer, translator, and parliamentarian.
Born in Lower Canada (now part of modern Laval Quebec), Tassé as a young man studied the Classics at the Collège Bourget. Upon ...
,
Benjamin Sulte
Benjamin Sulte (September 17, 1841 – August 6, 1923), baptized Olivier-Benjamin Vadeboncœur, was a Canadian journalist, writer, civil servant, and historian.
Born in Trois-Rivières, Lower Canada (now Quebec), to Benjamin Sulte dit Vadebonc ...
, and
Louis Fréchette Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
, and above all
Henri Julien's drawings continued to attract readers.
From 1870 to 1874, the magazine had a French-language American edition through the acquisition of ''L'Étendard national'', a newspaper founded in 1969 in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
by
Ferdinand Gagnon, who continued to contribute to it.
The last edition of the journal was issued on December 29, 1883. ''L'Opinion publique'', like the ''Canadian Illustrated News'', ceased publication at the end of 1883, but in many ways prefigured the press of the 20th century.
Collaborators
*
Joseph-Alfred Mousseau
*
Laurent-Olivier David
Laurent-Olivier David (March 24, 1840 – August 24, 1926) was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician.
Born in Sault-au-Récollet, Montreal, Quebec, the son of Stanislas David and Élisabeth Tremblay, David was educated at the Petit Sémi ...
* Oscar Dunn, editor-in-chief
*
Henri Julien
Henri Julien, baptised Octave-Henri Julien (14 May 1852 – 17 September 1908), was a Québécois artist and cartoonist noted for his work for the '' Canadian Illustrated News'' and for his political cartoons in the '' Montreal Daily ...
, illustrator
* Napoléon Legendre, columnist
*
Joseph Tassé
Joseph Tassé (23 October 1848 – 17 January 1895) was a Canadian writer, translator, and parliamentarian.
Born in Lower Canada (now part of modern Laval Quebec), Tassé as a young man studied the Classics at the Collège Bourget. Upon ...
*
Benjamin Sulte
Benjamin Sulte (September 17, 1841 – August 6, 1923), baptized Olivier-Benjamin Vadeboncœur, was a Canadian journalist, writer, civil servant, and historian.
Born in Trois-Rivières, Lower Canada (now Quebec), to Benjamin Sulte dit Vadebonc ...
*
Louis Fréchette Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
*
John Henry Walker
John Henry Walker (1831–1899), a pioneer Canadian engraver and illustrator, was from County Antrim in Northern Ireland and as a young boy emigrated in 1842 to Canada with his family, settling in Toronto, Upper Canada. In 1845 he was apprent ...
, engraver
See also
* ''
Canadian Illustrated News
The ''Canadian Illustrated News'' was a weekly Canadian illustrated magazine published in Montreal from 1869 to 1883. It was published by George Desbarats.
The magazine was notable for being the first in the world to consistently produce photog ...
''
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Création des journaux illustrés "Canadian Illustrated News" et "L'Opinion publique" ''La Ligne du temps du Québec,'' Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opinion publique, L'
Magazines disestablished in 1883
Weekly newspapers published in Quebec
Defunct newspapers published in Quebec
Magazines established in 1870