Maitres de l'Affiche - Masters of the Poster

Les Maîtres de l’Affiche

GOLDMARK 2010

19th century fin de siècle Paris was decorated with giant posters created by many of the greatest artists of the day. Such was their popularity that artist-publisher Jules Chéret issued perfect miniature versions which were avidly collected. It is these which are offered here.

Many of the original posters change hands at £50,000 plus. Some of these miniatures by artists such as Mucha and Toulouse-Lautrec often make figures of over £5,000. We are delighted to be able to offer these 19th century originals at prices from £195 to £2,500 (framed and delivered as always).

To order phone 01572 821424 visit www.maitresdelaffiche.co.uk

Jules Chéret

Les Maîtres de l’Affiche Masters of the Poster

Some of the most enduring images of fin de siècle Paris are the colourful posters emblazoned on boulevard hoardings, café walls and colonnes Morris, the ubiquitous advertising rotundas. Consumer art had never before been so appealing, as posters for cabarets, alcohol, music halls, perfumes and operas turned Paris streets into a riotous art gallery.

Although many leading artists quickly recognised the attractions the poster medium offered for their work - one only has to think of Lautrec and Mucha - it was one man who pioneered the movement.

Jules Chéret (1836-1932) can quite rightly be called the father of the modern poster and in reality should take his place in the pantheon of what we now call graphic designers, standing alongside those who followed much later and were more well-known: Saul Bass, Milton Glaser, Alan Fletcher, Paul Rand. Not only was Chéret a formidable commercial artist, his three-stone lithographic process meant that designers could see their work reproduced in vivid colour. He acted as the creative director at the Imprimerie Chaix where, such was the popularity of the posters, over-runs were sold as collectors’ items:

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1. JULES CHÉRET Fête des Fleurs 32.5 x 23 cm £450

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giant pieces of art, but virtually impossible to display unless one had the advantage of a high ceilinged salon. How could you enjoy such art when it had to be kept rolled up or laid flat in a plan chest?

The answer came in the form of Les Maîtres de l’Affiche. Every month, from December 1895 to November 1900, subscribers received by post from Librairie Chaix four reduced reproductions of the posters, loose sheets that cost 2.50 francs for one month, 27 francs for a year’s worth. Not only were they far more manageable than the large original street posters, the images were superior in quality because of the more refined lithographic process used and the paper stock. The size (approximately 39 x 30cms) also meant that they could be displayed properly with a broad margin around each image. The size also brought far more flexibility in display, as consistency in the trimmed size meant that infinite variations of grouping could be achieved - by artist, design or subject.

Jules Chéret naturally made sure his work came to the fore in the series; one in every four posters sent out was one of his. But just a glance through this first Les Maîtres de l’Affiche catalogue will show just how broad the appeal of other superb designers was, and how the series was not restricted to Paris or indeed France. A Beggarstaff Brothers Hamlet and Maxfield Parrish’s The Century Magazine rub lithographic shoulders with Mucha’s Lorenzaccio and ToulouseLautrec’s La Goulue.

The drawing, design, colours and wonderfully evocative lettering make these truly outstanding additions to anyone interested in commercial posters, belle époque Paris or just truly masterful artwork and printing. Each plate is printed with the Imprimerie Chaix number and marked with their blind-embossed stamp.

To order phone 01572 821424 [3]

2. MUCHA La Dame aux Camélias 35 x 14 cm £2,500

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3. OTTO FISCHER Wilhelm Hoffmann, Dresden 33.5 x 22.5 cm £350

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4. EUGÈNE GRASSET Exposition E. Grasset 34.5 x 22.5 cm £450

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5. GRUN Café Riche 31 x 23.5 cm £350

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6. JULES CHÉRET La Diaphane 30.5 x 22.5 cm £450

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7. FRED HYLAND Harper’s 30.5 x 20 cm £350 9. OLIVY Topic Salon 30 x 23 cm £195

8. JULES CHÉRET Folies Bergère 30.5 x 23 cm £450 10. WILL. CARQUEVILLE Lippincott’s 33 x 27 cm £350

Jules Chéret, the artist-director of the printing house, was the father of this artistic genre. For his role in launching the golden age of the poster, he was awarded Légion d’Honneur.

To order phone 01572 821424 visit www.maitresdelaffiche.co.uk

11. ETHEL REED Miss Traumerei 35 x 22 cm ÂŁ350

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12. MAXFIELD PARRISH The Century Magazine 33 x 22.5 cm £750

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13. EDWARD PENFIELD Harper’s Magazine 29.7 x 20 cm £350

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14. JULES CHÉRET Quinquina Dubonnet 30.5 x 23 cm £950

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15. JULES CHÉRET Rabelais 35 x 14.5 cm £450

16. RÉALIER-DUMAS Champagne 36 x 14 cm £750

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17. MOREAU-NÉLATON La Nativité 23 x 30.5 cm £350 18. ÉMILE BERCHMANS Salon de 1896 22 x 33 cm £250 [16]

19. DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC Jane Avril 29 x 21.5 cm £2,500

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20. EVENEPOEL Exposition 32 x 23 cm £250 21. CH. WOODBURY Exposition 30.5 x 23 cm £250 22. F. VALLOTTON Ah! La Pé . . . 29 x 23 cm £250 23. STEINLEN Le Coupable 33.5 x 23 cm £250

24. BROTHERS BEGGARSTAFF Hamlet 34.5 x 13.3 cm £950 (James Pryde & W.N.P. Nicholson) [19]

25. GABRIEL IBELS Exposition 31.5 x 22.5 cm £350

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26. LUCE Mévisto 36 x 15 cm £450

27. LUCIEN LEFRÈVRE Absinthe 35 x 14 cm £450

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The last ten years of the 19th century were the golden age of the poster, when the streets of Paris were decorated as if for a fĂŞte by the coloured lithographs from the hands of some of the finest artists of the age.

To order phone 01572 821424 visit www.maitresdelaffiche.co.uk

28. JULES CHÉRET Olympia 30 x 22.5 cm £950

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29. PRIVAT-LIVEMONT Absinthe Robette 31 x 23 cm £1,500

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30. JULES CHÉRET Exposition 32 x 23 cm £450 32. ETHEL REED Golden Girl 34 x 23 cm £250

31. MANUEL ROBBE l’Éclatante 33.5 x 22.5 cm £350 33. JULES CHÉRET Casino d’Enghien 29 x 22 cm £450

34. GABRIEL IBELS Pierrefort 23 x 29 cm £350 35. JULES CHÉRET Cadet Roussel 31 x 23 cm £450 36. JULES CHÉRET Exposition 31.5 x 23 cm £250

37. FRITZ REHM Cigarettes Laferme 33 x 22.5 cm ÂŁ450

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38. WILL. BRADLEY Chap-Book 33 x 22 cm £350

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39. DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC La Goulue 33 x 23 cm £2,500

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40. MUCHA Lorenzaccio 35.5 x 14 cm £2,500

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41. MAURICE DENIS La Dépêche 33 x 23 cm £250 42. EUGÈNE GRASSET Napoleon 34 x 23 cm £450 43. WILLETTE Exposition 32.5 x 24 cm £250 44. ALEX. CHARPENTIER D’Ivry 32.5 x 22.5 cm £250

45. DE FEURE Jeanne d’Arc 36 x 14.5 cm £350

46. JULES CHÉRET Jouets 36 x 14.5 cm £450

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19th century fin de siècle Paris was decorated with giant posters created by many of the greatest artists of the day. Such was their popularity that artist-publisher Jules Chéret issued perfect miniature versions which were avidly collected. It is these which are offered here.

Many of the original posters change hands at £50,000 plus. Some of these miniatures by artists such as Mucha and Toulouse-Lautrec often make figures of over £5,000. We are delighted to be able to offer these 19th century originals at prices from £195 to £2,500 (framed and delivered as always).

To order phone 01572 821424 visit www.maitresdelaffiche.co.uk

47. BOUTET DE MONVEL Petite Poucette 31 x 23 cm £350

48. JULES CHÉRET Bal Masqué 31.5 x 22 cm £450

GOLDMARK GALLERY UPPINGHAM RUTLAND LE15 9SQ Open Monday to Saturday 9.30 - 5.30, Sunday 2.30 - 5.30 and Bank Holidays www.goldmarkart.com info@goldmarkart.com www.maitresdelafiche.co.uk

01572 821424