Widely researched, and lavishly illustrated, Laugh Lines, makes both a challenging and inspirational reading. Supported by ample studies of the abundant primary sources, from Baudelaire and Champfleury to Grand-Carteret and Duret, as well as archival material in the Bibliothèque Nationale, the book straddles several areas: reproductive technologies, the practices of physiognomy, photography, Salon history, as well as into cultures of art viewing and the perception of laughter in nineteenth-century France.The book’s unquestionable strength are visual analyses. Langbein takes the readers on captivating journeys, which move with confidence between the original works by Delacroix, Ribot and many lesser-known artists, and the ‘hyperactive lines’ of the rapidly drawn caricatures by Cham and Bertall, sometimes including also polite reproductive engravings of the same paintings for comparison.