Robert Macaire. - Hé bien! mon cher directeur, ton affaire marche-t-elle? . . .

Plate from his famous series "Robert Macaire." This print has no plate number.
Caption in English: (Robert): Well, well! My dear director… how's business? - (Bertrand): Good, very good, I am quite content. Unfortunately, we don't have a penny to continue! - Oh blast! - But an investor still owes us 200'000 Francs… and will come up for signature either tonight or latest tomorrow morning. - About time… I urgently need a new pair of boots.

Robert Macaire may seem to be a realistic figure, however one should remember that in reality, he is an artificial personality, created in 1823 by Benjamin Antier for his play "L’Auberge des Adrets".
The breakthrough came in 1834, when Frédéric Lemaitre used the names of Macaire and his somewhat simple partner Serres-Bertrand for his various comedies in Paris. The figure of Macaire goes back as far as 1371, when - as the legend goes - Aubri de Montdidier, a nobleman from the court of Charles V was assassinated by Macaire.
The murder was vindicated by his dog, the only witness of the assassination. A duel between the dog and Macaire, who was armed with a cudgel, should settle the case. The dog killed Macaire, who confessed the murder before he died. Macaire personified the clever businessman, who was willing at any time to throw moral and ethical principles overboard for a quick buck.
His personality fitted exactly to the period so well described by Alexis de Tocqueville: self-enrichment at all levels and a Government run on shareholders' principles.
Short-selling, pyramid systems, investments in Californian gold mines and IPOs of nonexistent companies were the name of the game. Thanks to Macaire and Bertrand, all the little tricks were demonstrated in detail to the public.

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Reference: Daumier Registry 871, LD 871, 2nd state.