Caran d'Ache was the pseudonym of the 19th century French satirist and political cartoonist Emmanuel Poiré (1858-1909). "Caran d'Ache" comes from the Russian word karandash (карандаш), meaning pencil (of Turkic origin; "karadash" meaning black stone — used for writing on a "karatash" meaning black slate). While his first work glorified the Napoleonic era, he went on to create "stories without words" and as a contributor to newspapers such as the Lundi du Figaro, he is sometimes hailed as one of the precursors of comic strips. The Swiss art products company Caran d'Ache is named after him.