Trombone History: Marguerite Dufay, Parisian Music Hall Trombonist

In 1899, Louis Anquetin (1861-1932), a respected anti-Impressionist artist, published this lithograph of trombonist Marguerite Dufay. Part of the “Les Maitre de L’Affiches” series, it portrays a woman categorized among comique excentrique entertainers of the popular Parisian music cafes. Marguerite Dufay is said to have performed throughout Paris at its many music halls. It is not known whether she was also a skilled arm wrestler, although it would appear likely (sources: Charles Hiatt, Picture Posters: A Short History, p. 113; Ervine Metzl, The Poster: Its History and Its Art, p. 50).