Uitnodiging voor een bijeenkomst van de Federation des Avocats 1891

Auguste Danse created this invitation to a meeting of the Federation des Avocats in 1891 using etching. The image provides a glimpse into the world of late 19th-century Belgian legal professionals, and their efforts to organize. The invitation features portraits of prominent members, suggesting a focus on established figures within the Federation. The location of the meeting, Charleroi, was at the heart of the Belgian industrial revolution, a Walloonian city known for its coal mines and steel factories. The Federation's choice of this location might imply a concern for labor issues and the legal challenges arising from rapid industrialization. It would be interesting to learn more about what the Federation des Avocats stood for, and how they saw their public role. To understand this image more fully, one could research the history of legal institutions in Belgium, as well as the social and political context of the late 19th century. By doing so, we can get a much clearer sense of what the Federation des Avocats aimed to achieve, and what role it played in the wider society.