“- I bought this ground at 1 franc per square meter, and I'll sell it again at 9 francs. - To whom? - The name does not matter as long as I make 8 francs on the square meter... after all, it's not excessive, a square meter on the Boulevard Montmartre costs 600 francs! - Yes, but this section here is uninhabited. - What do you mean, there are more than 20'000 rabbits living here,” plate 1 from Les Spéculateurs 1857

" - I bought this ground at 1 franc per square meter, and I'll sell it again at 9 francs. - To whom? - The name does not matter as long as I make 8 francs on the square meter... after all, it's not excessive, a square meter on the Boulevard Montmartre costs 600 francs! - Yes, but this section here is uninhabited. - What do you mean, there are more than 20'000 rabbits living here,” plate 1 from Les Spéculateurs, is a lithograph created by Honoré Daumier in 1857. It depicts a satirical encounter between two men discussing the potential profit to be made from land speculation in a rural area. The work is a commentary on the economic and social issues of 19th-century France, particularly the rapid urbanization and the exploitation of the working class. The scene is rendered with Daumier’s signature sharp and expressive lines, and the dialogue between the characters is both witty and critical. The print belongs to a series of lithographs called Les Spéculateurs, which are a powerful indictment of the greed and corruption that Daumier saw around him.