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LES MAÎTRES DE L'AFFICHE.
(Paris: Imprimerie Chaix, 1896-1900). 403 x 308 mm. (15 3/4 x 12"). Five volumes. Preface by Roger Marx. FIRST EDITION.
Publisher's deep green cloth WITH A LOVELY DESIGN BY PAUL BERTHON depicting two graceful figures against a background of dense foliage, lower cover printed with a similar foliate pattern, smooth spine (barely visible expert repairs at some spine ends). The five volumes with a total of 256 CHROMOLITHOGRAPHED PLATES, as called for, by artists including Chéret, Mucha, Toulouse-Lautrec, Steinlen, Maxfield Parrish, Edward Penfield, and others. All plates with embossed device in the lower right corner. Carteret IV, 261. See Stanley Appelbaum, Introduction to The Complete Masters of the Poster, New York: Dover Publications, 1990; Alain Weill, Masters of the Poster 1900, Paris: Bibliothèque de l'Image, 2001. All volumes with corners slightly bumped and very minor rubbing to the printed decoration on the boards. Front hinge of volumes II and V just beginning to separate at the top (though no hint of looseness), a few small tears to tissue guards, other trivial defects, but A REMARKABLY FINE COPY of a work difficult to find this way, with fresh and clean plates throughout.
Called by author Stanley Appelbaum "one of the most prestigious and influential art publications in history," this lush collection of Belle Epoque advertising posters is offered here in fine condition in its original very attractive decorated boards. The art of the poster enjoyed an unprecedented popularity in the last decade of the 19th century, spurred on by advances in lithography and by a new aesthetic sensibility in advertising. These changes were largely due to the work of Parisian artist and printer Jules Chéret (1836-1932), whose gracefully drawn and brightly colored lithographic posters were a significant departure from the largely monochrome letterpress posters of the previous generation. In light of this, it is no surprise that Weill calls Chéret "the incontestable father figure" of the illustrated poster. Issued by Chéret's own press, Imprimerie Chaix, the present publication consists of chromolithographic reproductions of posters that were released monthly in groups of four numbered plates to subscribers between December 1895 and November 1900. On 16 occasions these installments also included a bonus lithograph by Chéret, something not infrequently missing from bound sets, but present here as the unnumbered plates. Subscribers who wished to have installments bound were offered the service by the printers, complete with the binding designed by Berthon, as here. The work of 97 different artists is represented in this publication's five volumes, many of them French or working in Paris, such as Chéret, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha, Pierre Bonnard, and Georges Meunier. But the work of artists from other countries, particularly the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany, is also represented in the collection. These fresh and lively posters, with their vibrant colors and sensuous lines, turn advertisements for the most mundane things into glorious dreamscapes. Notable examples included in this publication are Toulouse-Lautrec's famous poster for the Moulin Rouge nightclub (number 122), Alphonse Mucha's advertisement for Job cigarette papers (number 202), and Cheret's poster depicting modern dancer Loie Fuller (number 78). Many copies of this highly desirable publication have been taken apart over the years, making a complete set, especially one in excellent condition, challenging to obtain. (We could find no such set currently offered by an online dealer.) Even when complete, the size and weight of the volumes have often proven too difficult a burden for boards that are not as strong as they might be; happily, there is nothing infirm or wobbly about the present set, which remains as firm as it is bright. Because of this combination of scarcity and condition issues, fine and complete sets like the present one are highly sought after and command substantial prices: even a set lacking 14 plates (with four duplicates) brought $41,400 at Swann as long ago as 2005, and single plates are currently retailing for up to $5,000. Apart from its value, given the beauty and energy resident in the pages of this dynamic work, it is surely among the most memorably joyful modern illustrated books we have ever offered for sale. (ST21184)
Price: $85,000.00