Lachambeaudie was a book-keeper in Lyon before he was a fabulist, and his first attempt at verse, in 1829, passed entirely unnoticed. A Saint-Simonian, he rhymed morals for the use of the people, who bought them: his Fables populaires were reprinted seven times in the year 1849 alone. A bronze bust identical to his adorns a square in his native Dordogne.
The story
Seven reprints in the single year 1849: such was the fate of the Fables populaires, published ten years earlier. A convinced Saint-Simonian, Pierre Lachambeaudie wrote morals for the people, and the people bought them.
The son of a former infantry officer turned landowner at Montignac, in the Dordogne, he had an ordinary education before becoming a bookkeeper in a trading house at Lyon. His first literary attempt, the Essais poétiques of 1829, passed entirely unnoticed; he then found a post with a transport company while writing for the paper Les Échos de la Loire. Success would come at thirty-three.
He died at Brunoy on 7 July 1872. The bronze bust that crowns his grave is signed Ferdinand Taluet, dated 1872 and cast by Boyer Ainé and Rolland; the epitaph runs to five words: “A Pierre LACHAMBEAUDIE poète fabuliste”, to Pierre Lachambeaudie, poet and fabulist.
An identical bust stands in a square at Montignac, in the Dordogne, the town where he was born. The fabulist is therefore twice in bronze: in Paris, and at home.
The grave
A bronze bust signed Ferdinand Taluet (1821-1904), dated 1872 and cast by Boyer Ainé et Rolland, beneath an inscription that runs to five words: “A Pierre LACHAMBEAUDIE poète fabuliste 1806-1872.” — to Pierre Lachambeaudie, poet and fabulist. One detail is worth noting: an identical bust stands in a square in Montignac, in the Dordogne, where he was born in 1806. The fabulist has the same face twice: one in Paris, the other in his village.
On site, do not miss
A bronze bust signed Ferdinand Taluet, cast by Boyer Ainé et Rolland — an identical copy adorns a square in Montignac, in the Dordogne. The epitaph calls him “poète fabuliste”, poet and fabulist.
Visitors' questions
Where is Lachambeaudie's grave?
In Division 48, avenue Frédéric-Soulié, second row — the Division of Balzac. A bronze bust by Ferdinand Taluet, dated 1872 and cast by Boyer Ainé and Rolland, crowns it. The epitaph calls him “poète fabuliste”, a poet of fables.
Honoré de BalzacWhat was his success?
The Fables populaires, in 1839: the book went through seven reprints in the year 1849 alone. His first attempt, the Essais poétiques of 1829, had passed entirely unnoticed. He was a bookkeeper in Lyon at the time.
Pierre-Jean de BérangerWhat did he do before he wrote?
He was a bookkeeper in a trading house in Lyon, then a clerk with a haulage company, all the while writing for the paper Les Échos de la Loire. His father was a former infantry officer turned landowner at Montignac, and success came to him only at thirty-three.
Frédéric SouliéIs there another bust of him?
Yes: a bust identical to the one on his grave stands in a square in Montignac, in the Dordogne, the town where he was born. Both are the work of the sculptor Ferdinand Taluet, who made it in the year of his death.
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