,,picture ,,posters  ,a ,short ,history 
,of ,the ,illustrated ,placard ,with    
,many ,reproductions ,of ,the ,most     
,artistic ,examples ,in ,all ,countries 
,by ,charles ,hiatt  ,london3 ,george   
,bell ,and ,sons ,new ,york  ,,mdcccxcvi
  ,second ,edition     ,,preface4  ,in  
the present volume an attempt has been  
made briefly to trace 7the history of   
the picture poster from the earliest    
times67 and to comment upon and         
reproduce some of the most noteworthy   
examples in various countries4 ,the     
,english and ,american placards have    
received special attention1 while the   
best examples of the ,french school have
 not been overlooked4 ,with very few    
exceptions1 only posters signed1 or     
acknowledged1 by the artists producing  
them1 are included among the            
illustrations4 ,the whole subject is    
treated from the point of view rather of
 art than of commerce4 ,while it is     
believed that this book is the first    
which deals in ,english with the        

,pictorial ,poster1 the author desires  
to recognize his indebtedness to ,m4    
,maindron's work1 and to the catalogues 
of ,m4 ,sagot and ,mr4 ,bella4 ,the     
last-named has rendered material aid by 
lending1 for the purpose of             
reproduction1 not a few examples        
contained in his collection4  ,to name  
the artists and owners of valuable      
copyrights who have laid the author     
under obligations would1 however        
carefully compiled1 almost certainly    
contain serious omissions4 ,it is hoped1
 therefore1 that those whose names would
 figure in such a list will acquit him  
of intentional discourtesy or           
ingratitude4 ,special thanks are due to 
,mr4 ,gleeson ,white for his editorial  
work in connexion with this volume2     
indeed1 whatever merits it may possess  
are due1 in no small degree1 to his care
 and assiduity4 ,although personally    
unknown to the writer1 ,mr4 ,spiel-mann 
has been so good as to assist materially
 in the matter of illustration4 ,to the 

kindness of ,m4 ,henri de               
,toulouse-,lautrec is owing the         
frontispiece in the shape of a hitherto 
unpublished study for a poster2 while   
the reproduction of a sketch for the    
,phit-,eesi placard was courteously     
consented to by ,mr4 ,dudley ,hardy1 and
 ,messrs4 ,vaterlow who printed the     
poster itself4 ,the cover has been      
specially drawn by ,mr4 ,charles        
,ffoulkes1 to whom the writer desires to
 express his sincere thanks4 ,the       
,artistic ,supply ,company 7,limited7   
have been so good as to consent to the  
reproduction of unpublished copyright   
designs by ,messrs4 ,bernard ,partridge1
 ,max ,cowper1 the ,brothers            
,beggarstaff1 ,sydney ,adamscm1 ,kerr   
,lawson1 ,a4 ,r4 ,wilson1 and ,lewis    
,baumer4 ,a design1 representing ,sir   
,henry ,irving as ,don ,quixote is      
illustrated here owing to the kindness  
of ,miss ,ellen ,terry1 who owns the    
original4  ,charles ,hiatt  ,october1   
#ahie4  ,,picture ,,posters4            

,,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,the  
,,pictorial ,,poster  ,it would be      
merely foolish to pretend that the      
pictorial poster1 looked at from the    
point of view of art1 is of the same    
importance as a portrait by ,velasquez  
or an etching by ,rembrandt4 ,its       
aesthetic qualities have of necessity to
 be subordinated to its commercial      
qualities2 the artist is the servant of 
the tradesman4 ,his first business is   
not to achieve a decoration1 but to call
 the attention of the man in the street 
to the merits of an article4 ,he may be 
fantastic only in so far as his fantasy 
assists the advertisement2 he must ever 
keep before his eyes the narrow object  
of his effort4 ,the closest limits are  
set to his invention2 it is not for him 
to do what he will1 but rather to do    
what he must4 ,under such circumstances1
 it is1 at the first blush1 somewhat    
surprising that artists have            
condescended to the poster at all4 ,the 
bounds of freedom in the cases of       

painting and of sculpture are1          
comparatively speaking1 so wide that one
 is not unnaturally amazed that the     
artist of talent is willing to work     
within the strict limitations imposed on
 him in the production of a pictorial   
poster4 ,and yet1 after all1 to the     
ingenious designer there is a certain   
fascination in the very strictness of   
these limits2 the complexity of the     
problem allures him1 and gives him the  
appetite for experiment4 ,moreover1 if  
he believe that art is something more   
than a vague grace1 a non-essential     
luxury1 he is ever anxious to extend her
 domain1 to make her empire universal4  
,he believes it to be his mission to    
touch some ugly necessity1 to inform it 
with art1 and1 in doing so1 to adorn it4
 ,he is restless for new worlds to      
conquer1 for fresh fields to occupy4    
,his ideal is art everywhere1 art in    
all4 ,he would fain give style and grace
 even to the paraphernalia of commerce3 
the necessities of trade shall not be   

hideous if he can make them otherwise4  
,and so it happens that he is willing1  
nay eager1 to turn his attention to the 
poster1 with the result that the        
hoarding becomes an interesting1 even a 
charming1 gallery of designs4 ,what was 
one of the most hideous of human        
inventions is transformed into a delight
 to the eyes4 ,colour and interest are  
added to the street2 the gay and joyous 
take the place of the dull and ugly4    
,it follows1 supposing that ,i have     
stated the case fairly1 that it is not  
derogatory to the dignity1 even of a    
very great artist1 to apply his talent  
to the poster4  ,it is clear that the   
poster is one of the oldest and most    
obvious forms of advertisement4 ,it is  
almost impossible to conceive a time in 
the history of man1 once he had learned 
to express his thoughts in design or in 
writing1 when the idea of the thing did 
not exist4 ,it must have been an        
incident of the most crude and ancient  
of civilizations2 even the cave-dweller 

in the dim and distant past must surely 
have possessed the essential idea of it4
 ,from the cave-dweller to the          
comparatively complex civilization of   
the ancient and greater ,egypt is a far 
cry4 ,that the mural inscription1 which 
is obviously the germ of the poster1    
flourished exceedingly in the ,land of  
the ,pharaohs is matter of history4 ,a  
papyrus is comprised in the collections 
of the ,louvre1 which may fairly be     
described as a poster4 ,it is dated so  
early as #adf b4c41 and deals at length 
with the escape of two slaves from the  
city of ,alexandria1 offering a reward  
to anybody who should discover their    
place of retreat4 ,still more           
interesting1 though less ancient1 is an 
inscription in ,greek1 discovered in the
 ,temple at ,jerusalem1 in #ahgb1 by ,m4
 ,clermont-,gannerau4 ,it was issued    
during the reign of ,herod the ,great1  
and forbids the entry1 by foreigners1 to
 certain parts of the ,temple on pain of
 death4  ,of the poster in ,greece we   

know very little4 ,legal inscriptions   
were undoubtedly written on whitened    
walls1 or on axones1 the latter being   
wooden tablets painted white1 and made  
to revolve slowly on an upright axis4   
,in passing from ,greece to ,rome1 we   
pass from somewhat fragmentary to       
comparatively exact3 information4 ,the  
,roman notice-board was called an album1
 and it is a matter of dispute whether  
it was white with black letters1 or of a
 dark colour with the text in white4    
,anybody who took away1 destroyed1 or   
mutilated an album was liable to an     
actio albi corrupti1 and to heavy       
damages besides4 ,it appears to have    
been invented in the first place1 in    
order to give publicity to the annual   
edict of the ,praetor2 subsequently1    
however1 the word album was used to     
signify any tablet on which a public    
announcement was inscribed4 ,the ruins  
of ,pompeii have furnished us with at   
least one interesting fragment of an    
album1 on which are written notices of  

the most diverse kinds4 ,amongst them   
are the following3  ,,familia4          
,,gladiatoria ,,venatio4 ,,et4 ,,vela4  
and3  ,a4 ,,svettii4 ,,cerii4           
,,aedilis4 ,,familia4 ,,gladiatoria4    
,,pugnavit4 ,,pompeis4 ,,pr4 ,k4        
,,ivnias4 ,,venatio4 ,,et4 ,,vela4      
,,erunt4  and again3  ,,dedications     
,,thermarum4 ,,muneris4  ,,enai4        
,,allei4 ,,nigidii4  ,,maii4 ,,venalio4 
,,athela4  ,,sparsiones4 ,,vela4        
,,erunt4 ,,maio4 ,,principi4  ,,colon   
,,iae4 ,,feliciter4  ,as for the ,roman 
bookseller1 he was in the habit of      
placarding his shop with the titles of  
books just published1 or about to be    
published4 ,take1 for instance1 the shop
 described by ,martial in the lines3    
,contra ,caesaris est forum taberna1    
,scriptis postibus hinc et inde totis1  
,omnes ut cito perlegas poetas4         
,illinc me pete4  ,the actor has never  
been inclined to hide his light under a 
bushel4 ,advertisement has always been  
dear to him1 and it is not surprising to

 find that the ,roman actor made the    
most of the opportunity of the publicity
 offered to him by the album4 ,not      
content with having his name inscribed  
in gigantic letters1 he went a step     
further1 and anticipated the illustrated
 affiche4 ,just as ,sarah ,bernhardt    
employs the decorative skill of ,grasset
 to depict her as ,joan of ,arc1 so did 
the old ,roman actor employ ,callades1  
an artist mentioned very favourably by  
,pliny1 to portray him in his favourite 
parts4 ,callades would seem to have been
 the ,cheret of his age3 he was the     
great artistic advertiser of ancient    
,rome1 just as ,cheret is the great     
artistic advertiser of modern ,paris4   
,it is obvious1 then1 that the idea of  
the illustrated poster existed among the
 ,romans3 the difference between        
,callades and ,cheret is one of method  
rather than of vital principle4 ,and    
even the difference in method is slight4
  ,of the poster in the time which      
immediately succeeded the fall of the   

,roman ,empire we have very little      
trustworthy information4 ,it is possible
 that the ,romans introduced the album  
into ,gaul and into ,britain1 and that  
the sight of it became as familiar to   
the inhabitants of ,eboracum and        
,uriconium as it was to the natives of  
,rome and ,pompeii4 ,a ,french historian
 of distinction has stated that the     
affiche was employed by the earliest of 
the kings of ,france1 but this statement
 can hardly be said to be borne out by  
facts4 ,it is at least certain that the 
signboard1 which is a variation of the  
pictorial poster1 was employed in the   
early part of the ,middle ,ages4 ,the   
poster1 unless illustrated1 would have  
been useless in a community in which the
 art of writing was held effeminate1 in 
which the most illustrious knight openly
 boasted of his inability to sign his   
name4 ,the principal means of           
advertisement at that time was the      
public crier4 ,as early as the twelfth  
century the criers of ,france formed an 

organized body1 for1 as ,mr4 ,sampson   
tells us in his ,history of             
,advertising1 by a charter of ,louis    
,,vii4 granted in the year #aada to the 
inhabitants of the province of ,berry1  
the old custom of the country was       
confirmed1 according to which there were
 to be only twelve criers1 five of whom 
should go about the taverns crying with 
their usual cry1 and carrying with them 
samples of the wine they cried in order 
that people might taste4 ,for the first 
time they blew the horn they were       
entitled to a penny1 and the same for   
every time after1 according to          
custom4444 ,these wine-criers are       
mentioned by ,john de ,garlando1 a      
,norman writer1 who was probably        
contemporary with ,william the          
,conqueror4 ,the wine-crier is          
frequently mentioned in early ,french   
street-ballads4 ,to instance one of     
them3                     ,si crie l'on 
en plusors leurs                     ,si
 bon vui fort a trente deux             

,a seize1 a douze1 a six1 a huiet4  ,in 
,england also the crier was an early    
institution1 for we find one ,edmund le 
,criour mentioned in a document dated   
#abii4 ,even when the crier was the     
pre-eminent advertiser1 the poster1 or  
at least the handbill1 had its place4   
,at first the bills were written1 but   
almost as soon as ,caxton introduced the
 newly-discovered art of printing they  
were produced by that method4 ,perhaps  
the earliest ,english poster is that by 
which ,caxton1 about the year #adhj1    
announced the ,pyes of ,salisbury ,use1 
at the ,red ,pole in the ,almonry at    
,westminster4 ,the size of this         
broadside is five inches by seven1 and  
the text runs as follows3  ,if it please
 any man spirituel or temporel to bye   
our pyes of two or thre comemo-racio's  
of ,salisburi use1 emprunted after the  
form of this prese't lettre1 which ben  
wel and truly correct1 late hym come to 
,west-monster1 into the almonestrye at  
the reed pole ane he shall have them    

good and chepe4                         
,supplico stet cedula4  ,the pyes in    
question1 it may be noted1 were a series
 of diocesan rules4  ,it is in the      
sixteenth century that we meet with the 
poster properly so called4 ,for example1
 we have a royal proclamation of        
,francois ,i relating to the police of  
the city of ,paris1 which runs3 ,nous   
voulons que ces presentes ordonnances   
soient publiees tous les moys de l'an1  
par tous les quarrefours de cette ville 
de ,paris et faux bourgs d'icelle1 a son
 de trompe et cry public4 ,et neantmoins
 quelles soient attachees a un tableau1 
escriptes en parche-main et en grosse   
lettre1 en tous les seize quartiers de  
ladite ville de ,paris es esdietz faux  
bourgs1 et lieux les plus eminents et   
apparens d'iceulx1 afin qu'elles soient 
cognues et entendues parfun chacun4 ,et 
qu'il ne soit loysible oster les dictz  
tableaux1 sur peine de punition         
corporelle1 dont les dictz commissaires 
auront la charge chacun en son quartier4

  ,the words attachees a un tableau1    
escriptes en parchemain et en grosse    
lettre leave no doubt that the poster as
 we now know it was a usual method of   
advertisement in the reign of ,francois 
,ier4 ,the affiche soon after received  
the attention of the ,french            
legislature1 for the production and     
exhibition of posters of certain kinds  
in ,france1 was expressly forbidden by  
un arret du ,parlement dated the #gth of
 ,february1 #afeb4 ,to publishers and   
booksellers1 however1 the privilege of  
posting the titles of their new books   
was specially reserved4  ,as printing   
became less expensive and methods for   
the mechanical reproduction of pictures 
and designs were discovered1 it needed  
no great ingenuity to add emphasis to   
the poster by means of pictorial        
illustration4 ,acrobats1 the            
stall-keepers at fairs on the ice1 and  
the like1 were speedily induced to adorn
 their advertisements with rude         
drawings1 while ,royal proclamations    

were usually decorated heraldically4    
,early in the eighteenth century1 the   
bills announcing the departure and      
arrival of coaches were headed by       
pictures1 as for example the one which  
related to the ,birmingham coach in     
#agca4  ,even earlier in date1 there are
 illustrated advertisements relating to 
the ,roman ,catholic church4 ,one of    
these1 produced in ,france1 dated #afjb1
 is very curious and elaborate in       
design4 ,while1 however1 many posters   
such as this are profoundly interesting 
to the archaeologist1 they can hardly be
 considered works of art4 ,it is not    
until the middle of the present century 
is reached that we find important       
examples of pictorial poster            
deliberately planned by an artist4 ,the 
modern artistic poster movement1 as we  
shall see in the next chapter1 had its  
origin in ,paris some fifty years ago4  
,,chapter ,,ii4--,,in ,,france ,,during 
,,the ,,present ,,century  ,as we have  
seen1 the idea of the poster1 and even  

of the pictorial poster1 is an extremely
 ancient one1 but it is only at the     
commencement of the present century that
 distinguished designers deliberately   
attempted to make the pictorial poster a
 work of art4 ,the few posters1 at once 
pictorial and artistic1 which are of    
earlier date than the time in question1 
are artistic by accident rather than by 
deliberate intention4 ,so early1        
however1 as the year #ahcf1 we find a   
really distinguished ,french artist1    
,lalance1 producing a poster4 ,lalance  
was1 perhaps1 the pioneer of pioneers1  
and his advertisement for the book1     
,comment ,meurent ,les ,femmes1 if not  
of great artistic interest1 cannot be   
overlooked in any book dealing with the 
history of art as applied to the poster4
 ,only a fewr copies exist4 ,immediately
 succeeding him1 we have ,celestin      
,nanteuil engaged in producing an       
advertisement for an edition of ,robert 
,macaire1 dated #ahcg4 ,the year        
following1 ,rafifet brought out his     

,napoleon de ,norvins4 ,this work is    
signed as well as dated4 ,raffet1 in    
addition to the ,napoleon de ,norvins1  
designed two more posters dealing with  
the career of the great emperor as well 
as the history of ,algeria4 ,very soon  
after comes an important affiche1 ,le   
,prado1 by ,eugene ,gauche1 and from    
that time the artistic poster became an 
established institution4  ,it may be    
fairly stated that the direct cause of  
the artistic poster in ,france was the  
illustrated book4 ,the illustrated book1
 issued in weekly or monthly numbers1   
has always appealed keenly to the       
,french1 and it is usual to give the    
first number for nothing to all who care
 to ask for it4 ,the illustrators of    
these books were very frequently induced
 by the publishers of them to do a      
poster advertising the edition of the   
works they had illustrated4 ,sometimes  
one of the illustrations in the book was
 merely enlarged and lithographed1 but  
more generally the artist made a special

 design4 ,perhaps1 at the time1 the most
 widely known among ,french producers of
 the affiche illustre was ,gavarni4 ,the
 vogue for the works of this eminent    
illustrator and satirist is perhaps not 
so great as it was twenty years ago4 ,at
 all events1 the value of his works is  
not nearly so great as it was then1 and 
it has become usual to talk of him in a 
manner which is patronizing rather than 
genuinely appreciative4 ,it may be that 
his  ,illustration3 #jjcd  savage and   
grotesque point of view discounts his   
merits as an artist4 ,his power and     
originality1 however1 few will deny4    
,among the posters which he designed1   
one of the most characteristic is the   
,oeuvres ,choisis4 ,the original is     
extremely rare1  ,illustration3 #jjce   
but a copy exists in a folio volume in  
the ,british ,museum1 in which one or   
two other posters by ,gavarni will be   
found4 ,for the ,almanach ,imperial1    
#ahdf1 by  ,illustration3 #jjcf  ,e4    
,marco de ,s4 ,hilaire1 illustrated by  

,bertrand1 a poster 7which was1 perhaps1
 an enlargement of the cover7 exists4   
,it is a very  ,illustration3 #jjcg     
,,ouvrage ,,complet1 a jingo affair1    
representing the ,french emperor        
standing on the globe with the imperial 
eagle of ,france at his feet4 ,of a     
little later date are several           
interesting posters by ,grandville4     
,amongst them are ,les ,metamorphoses du
 ,jour 7of which a number               
,illustration3 #jjch  of pigs in        
different costumes is the main feature71
 ,des ,animaux1 ,ma ,tante1 ,petit      
,misere1 and ,st4 ,helene4 ,of the two  
latter ,i need say nothing1 since they  
are reproduced here1 save that they are 
included in the collection of the       
,british ,museum4 ,an illustrated poster
 very characteristic of  ,illustration3 
#jjci  its period1 insomuch as it is    
intensely grotesque1 is the ,voyage ou  
il vous plaira1 by ,tony ,johannot4 ,its
 central figures are a monstrous dwarf  
holding a lantern1 a crouching dragon1  

and an immense notice-board4 ,an affiche
 which is1 perhaps1 of  ,illustration3  
#jjdj  even more general interest1 is   
one done for an illustrated edition of  
,don ,quichotte1 in which the very      
perfect1 gentle knight is represented   
with a grotesqueness which would        
certainly have astonished ,cervantes    
himself4 ,of a similar kind is the      
,nains ,celebres1 by ,e4 de ,beaumont4  
,an illustrated poster of a kind utterly
 different to the one last discussed is 
by ,t4 ,h4 ,frere4 ,it was designed for 
the advertisement of a work entitled ,la
 ,touraine1 by ,stanislas ,bellanger de 
,tours4 ,under no circumstances should  
one overlook an affiche of about the    
same period on account of the great     
personality of its designer4 ,it is very
 generally admitted that the name of    
,edouard ,manet is one of the greatest  
in the history of modern painting4 ,it  
would indeed be difficult to            
over-estimate the extent of his         
influence on the pictorial art of the   

day4 ,the poster reproduced in these    
pages is not unworthy his great talent4 
,it is curious to notice that ,manet and
 ,fred4 ,walker1 an ,english artist of  
about the same time1 as to whose genius 
all are agreed1 should have been at one 
in their endeavour to make the          
illustrated poster artistic as well as  
merely pictorial4  ,i have not attempted
 to deal with any save the most         
prominent of the great number of ,french
 designers who took part in the poster  
movement during the fifties4 ,their     
names and the titles of some of their   
works will be found in the first        
catalogue of ,m4 ,ed4 ,sagot1 and       
valuable criticism is contained in the  
pages of ,m4 ,maindron4  ,illustration3 
#jjdb     ,,chapter ,,iii4--,,in        
,,france4 ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,cheret1   
,,grasset1 ,,and ,,toulouse-,,lautrec   
,so many contemporary ,french artists   
are designing posters1 that a single    
chapter dealing with them all would be  
of an alarming length4 ,i have          

therefore1 in the first place1 separated
 from their fellows three who seem to me
 curiously individual and worthy of     
careful consideration4 ,of the men whose
 names head this chapter1 pre-eminence  
is due1 for various reasons1 to ,jules  
,cheret1 whose position1 in the matter  
of poster-designing1 is quite without   
parallel4  ,it may be that men of rarer1
 of more fascinating1 talent have now   
and again devoted themselves to the     
affiche2 but none of them can compare   
with ,cheret in the magnitude and       
curiosity of his achievement4 ,many have
 produced charming wall pictures3       
nobody1 save ,cheret1 has made an       
emphatic mark on the aspect of a        
metropolis4 ,paris1 without its         
,cherets1 would be ,paris without one of
 its most pronounced characteristics2   
,paris1 moreover1 with its gaiety of    
aspect materially diminished4 ,the great
 masses of variegated colour formed by  
,cheret's posters greet one joyously as 
one passes every hoarding1 smile at one 

from the walls of every cafe1 arrest one
 before the windows of every kiosque4   
,the merits of the ,saxoleine lamp1 the 
gaieties of the ,moulin ,rouge1 the     
charms of ,loie ,fuller1 the value of a 
particular brand of cough-lozenges1 are 
insisted upon with a good-humoured      
vehemence of which ,jules ,cheret alone 
appears to know the secret4 ,others1 in 
isolated cases1 have possibly achieved  
more compelling decorations1 but none   
can pretend to a success so uniform and 
so unequivocal4 ,few men as richly      
endowed with the gift of decoration     
would6 have been content to produce work
 which1 were it not for the portfolio of
 the collector1 would be of an entirely 
ephemeral character4 ,it must be        
irritating to the artist to watch the   
gradual destruction of his              
chefs-d'oeuvre1 condemned as they are to
 be torn by every wind1 soaked by every 
shower1 blistered by the sun1 blurred by
 the fog4 ,it is natural that he should 
turn his eyes longingly to the          

comparative permanence of canvas1       
marble1 or bronze2 and it says much for 
,cheret's confidence in his artistic    
mission for his nice realization of his 
possibilities and limitations that he   
has remained faithful to the affiche for
 over twenty years4 ,now and            
,illustration3 #jjdf  ,illustration3    
#jjdh  again1 it is true1 he has turned 
aside to do work of more universally    
recognized and more pretentious a       
character1 and the very fact that he has
 touched scarcely anything which he has 
not adorned1 emphasises his fidelity to 
a branch of art until quite recently    
despised and held of little moment4 ,it 
is1 indeed1 mainly owing to this        
devotion1 to this lavish expense of     
talent1 that the poster is not even now 
considered beneath the dignity of the   
collector4 ,the judicious1 as soon as   
their eyes fell upon ,cheret's vast     
lithographs1 decided that he was no mere
 colour-printer's hack1 but an artist   
whose work would have to be reckoned    

with4 ,there was something positively   
alluring in the spectacle of a man who  
calmly placed his gift at the disposal  
of the tradesman1 who accepted without  
murmur the limitations which the        
tradesman imposed upon him4 ,it is      
possible that1 had it not been for the  
circumstances of his life1 the streets  
of ,paris would have remained           
undecorated1 so far as ,cheret was      
concerned1 to this day4 ,commencing as  
the humblest of lithographers1 ,cheret  
did not take up art of set intention1   
but passed irresistibly1 though it may  
be unconsciously1 into it4 ,after long  
years of patient and tedious work as an 
ordinary lithographer1 at the dawn of   
the year #ahff1 he commenced what was   
destined to be the most notable series  
of pictorial posters in existence1 a    
series containing over a thousand items1
 and one which happily has yet to close4
 ,it is doubtless the conditions of his 
early life1 the lessons learned while   
under the yoke of trade1 that have      

enabled ,cheret to appreciate to the    
full that the first business of an      
advertisement is to advertise4          
,avoiding1 therefore1 all subtle        
harmonies1 he goes in for contrasts of  
colour1 violent1 it is true1 but        
victorious in their very violence4      
,blazing reds1 hard blues1 glowing      
yellows1 uncompromising greens1 are     
flung together1 apparently haphazard1   
but in reality after the nicest         
calculation1 with the result that the   
great pictures1 when on the hoardings1  
insist positively on recognition4 ,one  
might as well attempt to ignore a fall  
of golden rain1 as to avoid stopping to 
look at them2 they are so many riots of 
colour1 triumphant in their certainty of
 fascinating and bewildering the        
passerby4  ,as may be imagined1         
,cheret's skill has fullest scope when  
dealing with the lightest and gayest    
subjects3 a cascade de clowns--to borrow
 a phrase of ,huysman--an entrance of   
ballet girls2 a joyous troupe of        

children1 contented because toy-laden2  
these1 and the like1 are subjects most  
congenial to him4 ,his style is         
essentially the outcome of the day4 ,it 
possesses no decorative forerunners2 it 
is not a thing derived2 its parents are 
the gaieties of modern ,paris4 ,it is   
intensely actual1 and in its actuality  
lies1 it  ,illustration3 #jjeb  seems to
 me1 its greatest claim to              
consideration4 ,it is infused with a    
somewhat hectic gaiety which holds a not
 unimportant place in the lives of us   
suffering from this sick disease of     
modern life4 ,of the sick disease       
itself1 ,cheret gives no hint4 ,he is   
unflagging in his vivacity1 unswerving  
in his insistence on the joie de vivre2 
instead of pondering over the inevitable
 sorrow of life1 he busies himself      
depicting the naive grace of the child1 
the elegance of the mondaine4 ,his gifts
 lead him inevitably to such subjects4  
,his merit as a draughtsman lies1 in    
part1 in vivacious rather than correct  

line3 gaiety1 as we have seen1 is the   
chief quality of his colour3 his        
composition is remarkable on account of 
the piquancy and appropriateness of its 
detail4 ,he chooses with unerring       
fidelity the subjects suited to his     
temperament and his gifts4 ,these       
subjects are not of infinite variety1   
and it follows that if one sees a great 
quantity of ,cheret's work together1 one
 becomes aware of a certain feeling of  
monotony4 ,one can be satiated even of  
,cheret's gaiety and joyousness4  ,to   
attempt any account of ,cheret's        
thousand and more posters1 is obviously 
impossible in any but an elaborate      
monograph devoted exclusively to him4 ,i
 can do no more here than comment on a  
few of the most striking4 ,it may be    
stated generally1 that while the earlier
 ones are rarest because most difficult 
to procure1 the more recent designs show
 the artist at his best4 ,a mastery of  
chromo-lithography such as his1 cannot  
be obtained without many essays1 some of

 which are foredoomed to failure4 ,in   
addition1 ,cheret has gradually improved
 alike in the splendour of his colour1  
and the disposal of his pattern4        
,perhaps he has never been happier in   
his treatment of children than in one or
 two of the ,buttes-,chaumont series4   
,the joy of the little ones in the      
possession of their new playthings is   
contagious4 ,utterly different in kind1 
though not less conspicuously           
successful1 is ,les ,coulisses de       
l',opera au ,musee ,grevin1 a           
delightfully piquant representation of a
 group of premieres danseuses in the    
traditional costume4 ,as a specimen of  
amazingly effective and strangely       
beautiful colour1 it would be difficult 
to exceed the ,loie ,fuller series2     
while1 in the matter of pert            
gracefulness1 ,cheret has done nothing  
more delicious than the chic little lady
 in the yellow dress who smiles at you  
in the ,pantomimes ,lumineuses4 ,anybody
 who could resist her fascinations would

 be a rival to ,st4 ,anthony4 ,no       
collector of course1 will overlook the  
great series of affiches which ,cheret  
has contrived for the ,folies ,bergere1 
the ,moulin ,rouge1 the ,alcazar d',ete1
 and similar places of amusement ,in    
order to sum up his talent as a designer
 of posters1 ,cheret has produced four  
decorative panels1 which1 although      
without lettering1  ,illustration3 #jjef
  ,illustration3 #jjeh  ,illustration3  
#jjfj  ,illustration3 #jjfb             
,illustration3 #jjfd  ,illustration3    
#jjff  are posters to all intents and   
purposes1 and would take their places on
 a hoarding quite admirably4 ,the       
subjects are most happily chosen2 who1  
better than ,cheret1 could symbolize1 in
 manner light and fantastic1 music1     
comedy1 pantomime1 and dancing8 ,the    
designs gain immensely1 insomuch as they
 are not disfigured with a legend1 for1 
in spite of the fact that the disposal  
of the lettering is of the very essence 
of a poster1 ,cheret1 for some reason   

known only to himself1 leaves that      
detail of his work to another designer1 
with results by no means uniformly      
fortunate4 ,before leaving ,cheret1 it  
is only just to him to point out that   
his work loses more than that of almost 
any other artist1 in the process of     
reproduction in black and white4 ,it is 
impossible to convey any idea of his    
amazing colour by means of a halftone   
block1 and therefore1 fewer             
reproductions of his designs are        
included in these pages than might be   
expected4 ,needless to say1 he suffers  
greatly from more or less unskilful     
imitators4 ,for this reason1 combined   
with the fact that he is engaged on a   
series of decorations for the ,paris    
,hotel de ,ville1 his excursions into   
the art of the hoarding will be less    
frequent than has been the case         
hitherto4  ,to turn from ,cheret to     
,eugene ,grasset1 is to turn to an      
artist in whose art career the poster is
 merely an incident4 ,grasset is a      

paragon of versatility2 there are       
literally no bounds to his              
comprehensiveness4 ,besides being a     
painter of distinction1 he has designed 
everything1 from stained glass to       
book-covers1 from piano-cases to menus4 
,unlike ,cheret1 he has been profoundly 
impressed by the work of old decorative 
designers2 he has certainly not         
disdained to borrow2 his borrowings1    
however1 have been at once legitimate   
and intelligent4 ,the ,japanese1 the old
 ,italians1 and in a less degree1 the   
ancient ,greeks1 have been laid under   
contribution1 with results which1 if not
 amazingly original1 are at least       
delightful4 ,it would be idle to pretend
 that1 from the standpoint of the       
advertiser1 ,grasset is the equal of    
,cheret4 ,his sense of beauty1 his      
passion for decoration1 make it         
impossible for him to achieve the daring
 and victorious colour which is so      
effective in the work of ,cheret4 ,a    
panel of his posters1 side by side with 

a panel of those of ,cheret1 is as a    
beautiful and somewhat quiet-hued       
wall-paper to a cascade of flowers of   
every conceivable colour4 ,while1       
however1 this is an important matter    
from the advertiser's point of view1 it 
is of little moment to the collector1   
whose primary object is to fill his     
portfolios with things of beauty4 ,at   
times1 indeed1 ,grasset does achieve    
irresistible advertisement2 nobody1 for 
instance1 could overlook the superb     
representation of ,sarah ,bernharct as  
,jeanne d',arc1 standing with splendid  
disdain amidst a forest of spears       
,illustration3 #jjgj  ,illustration3    
#jjgb  and a shower of arrows1 and      
waving above her head a great silken    
banner embroidered with the             
fleur-de-lis4 ,again1 one lingers before
 the ,fetes de ,paris1 attracted by its 
,illustration3 #jjgd  fine decorative   
qualities4 ,of an entirely different    
kind is the delicious little poster     
which the artist did for an exhibition  

of his own work at the ,salon des ,cent 
in #ahid2 in the naive simplicity of the
 thing1 combined with its fine          
decorative quality1 there is a hint of  
,botticelli and the old ,italians4 ,the 
contrast between this poster1 slightly  
archaic as it is1 and the realistic     
,odeon ,theatre is complete4 ,the latter
 represents a charmingly graceful girl1 
in a delicious modern gown1 watching a  
play4 ,she is accompanied by a          
highly-proper looking matron1 whose     
self-importance is enhanced by the      
possession of a handsome dress and a    
wealth of jewels4 ,very pretty1 again1  
is the ,librairie ,romantique1 with the 
facade of ,notre ,dame in the           
background4 ,less worthy of ,grasset is 
the ,a la ,place ,clichy1 which1 in     
spite of the majestic old oriental who  
descants on the merits of an elaborate  
carpet to a critical ,european1 is      
somewhat commonplace4 ,among the other  
productions of this artist1 some of them
 excellent1 but not calling for special 

description1 are the ,histoire de       
,france1 ,napoleon1 ,chocolat ,mexicain1
 and ,l',encre ,marquet1 as well as     
those done to advertise a work on the   
capital cities of the world1 and the    
exhibition of the productions of ,french
 decorative artists held in #ahic at the
 ,grafton ,gallery4 ,a bill designed for
 the ,south of ,france ,railway ,company
 is curious1 insomuch as it is unlike   
the other productions of its designer4  
,it consists of a series of pleasant    
little landscapes wreathed in the       
characteristic fruits and flowers of the
 ,riviera4 ,the colour is striking and  
the  ,illustration3 #jjgf               
,illustration3 #jjgh  poster full of    
sunshine4 ,it is one of the merits of   
,grasset that he is not1 even in what is
 to him so small a matter as            
poster-designing1 the slave of a single 
style1  ,illustration3 #jjhj  although  
all his works are obviously from the    
same hand4 ,before leaving him1 it      
should in fairness be stated that the   

lettering of his bills is ever          
appropriate and decorative4 ,true artist
 that he is1 he neglects no detail      
whatsoever2 in the smallest thing       
,illustration3 #jjha  as in the         
greatest1 he is not merely scrupulous1  
but even fastidious4  ,it is no         
dispraise of ,cheret and ,grasset to say
 that the work of ,henri de             
,toulouse-,lautrec is more fascinating  
than theirs4 ,the designs of the former 
two are alike in  ,illustration3 #jjhb  
that they are charming1 though charming 
in manner entirely different2 ,lautrec's
 productions1 alluring and powerful as  
they are1 can by no stretch of the word 
be so described4 ,he does not seek to   
attract you by joyousness of colour or  
grace of pattern1 but rather to compel  
your attention by the force of his      
realism or the curiosity of his         
grotesqueness4 ,for his posters are at  
once realistic and grotesque2 they are  
delineations of life as seen by a man   
who1 possessing the most acute powers of

 observation1 is poignantly impressed by
 the incongruities of modern life1 the  
physical peculiarities of modern men4   
,he has some points of similarity with  
,hogarth1 with ,rowlandson2 and the     
like1 but his art is quite non-moral2 he
 has no mission to depict vice as either
 hideous or ridiculous4 ,his            
extraordinary ,reine de ,joie1 perhaps  
the most powerful1 and certainly the    
least agreeable1 of his posters1 is a   
statement of fact rather than a         
criticism4 ,this great bill1 owing to   
the vehemence of the expression on the  
faces of the three people it represents1
 to the wonderful vigour of its line1 to
 its extraordinarily effective1 though  
simple1 colour1 is one of the most      
powerful designs of the kind ever       
accomplished4 ,it may be doubted whether
 any book has been advertised in so     
unforgettable a manner as ,la ,reine de 
,joie4  ,for the ,paris cafe chantant   
artiste who possesses the charming name 
of ,jane ,avril1 this designer has      

devised a grotesque decoration1 which   
could not fail imperiously to call      
attention to her talents as a dancer4   
,inspired it may be by her name1 it may 
be  ,illustration3 #jjhd  by a happy    
accident1 ,lautrec has employed a scheme
 of colour in which are found the pale  
,illustration3 #jjhf  tulip4 ,once      
having seen this work1 the name1 and    
indeed something of the personality1 of 
,jane ,avril is impressed on one's mind4
 ,moreover1 one easily recalls this     
unassuming poster vividly1 when works of
 art1 consecrated by the admiration of  
generations of critics1 are quite       
forgotten1 or only faintly remembered4  
,no man of more passionate and curious  
talent than ,aristide ,bruant has ever  
devoted himself to the business of light
 amusement1 and it was no doubt quite   
congenial to ,lautrec to advertise the  
performances which he gives in his      
cabaret4 ,again1 the artist's picture of
 another entertainer1 ,caudieux1        
represented in the act of quitting the  

stage1 is masterly for its indication of
 movement and its powerful              
characterization4 ,bad from the         
advertiser's point of view1 but most    
interesting from that of the collector1 
is the extremely rare ,le ,pendu1 a     
production which for weird and intense  
tragedy compares to advantage with any  
of the artist's posters4 ,scarcely less 
rare1 though by no means so important1  
is the affiche done to advertise the    
performances of ,la ,goulue at the      
,moulin ,rouge4 ,a far more agreeable   
design is the ,divan ,japonais1 in which
 a fearful and wonderful girl1          
accompanied by a man as fashionable as  
he seems to be imbecile1 is represented 
under the spell of ,yvette ,guilbert1   
whose tall1 thin figure is seen across  
the orchestra1 her arms1 in the famous  
black gloves1 being  ,illustration3     
#jjhh  ,illustration3 #jjij             
,illustration3 #jjib  ,illustration3    
#jjid  crossed in front of her with     
characteristic nonchalance4  ,it is in  

no way astonishing that ,mile4 ,guilbert
 has strongly attracted ,lautrec1 and   
that he has frequently made her the     
subject of his work4 ,no music-hall     
performer has1 so far1 approached this  
brilliant woman in ability or in        
artistic prestige4 ,like ,patti and     
,sarah ,bernhardt1 she is implored to   
testify to the merits of every brand of 
soap or every new perfume2 like them her
 reputation extends beyond the bounds of
 her native place1 and she is the       
admired of several foreign capitals4 ,if
 the flower of ,french art and          
literature assemble to honour ,zola1 the
 proceedings are incomplete without a   
song from her2 if the fastidious ,de    
,goncourt is presented with the rosette 
of the ,legion of ,honour1 what more    
fitting than that she should deliver a  
recitation8 ,in some degree she sees the
 life of modern ,paris in the same light
 as ,lautrec2 her wonderful delineations
 are realistic as are his1 though their 
realism is touched with a suspicion of  

the grotesque4 ,amongst other things1   
she has inspired ,lautrec to a series of
 illustrations remarkable alike in      
drawing and colour2 and he has not      
disdained to design lithographs to adorn
 the covers of different items of her   
repertoire4 ,owing to his kindness1 ,i  
am enabled to reproduce1 as the         
frontispiece to this volume1 a sketch   
for a poster which he designed for her1 
but which1 unfortunately1 has never got 
beyond the experimental stage4 ,it seems
 to me a specially interesting example  
of a remarkable talent applied to a very
 congenial subject4 ,the posters of     
,lautrec are something more than works  
of art2 they are human documents        
strangely eloquent of their moment4 ,for
 this reason1 their value may be more   
permanent than that of the productions  
either of ,cheret or ,grasset1          
delightfully fantastic as are the       
former1 charmingly decorative as are the
 latter4     ,,chapter ,,iv4--,,in      
,,france3 ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,willette1 

,,forain1 ,,steinlen  ,,anquetin1       
,,bonnard1 ,,ibels1 ,,valloton1 ,,de    
,,feure1 ,,and ,mc,t,i,v,e,t  ,it is not
 for a moment to be pretended that the  
artists with whom this chapter deals are
 in any sense members of a single       
school3 they have1 indeed1 many more    
points of difference than of similarity4
 ,i deal with them together1 because1   
speaking roughly1 their designs are     
saturated with the spirit of the day3   
their decorations are realistic1 rather 
than fantastic or picturesque4 ,they    
lean towards ,lautrec1 rather than      
towards ,cheret or ,grasset1 but they   
are in no sense his imitators2 some of  
them1 indeed1 are actually his          
predecessors4  ,willette is an artist of
 such astonishing facility and variety1 
that he has1 comparatively speaking1    
devoted little time to the affiche1 and 
save in one or two conspicuous          
instances1 he has failed to achieve     
compelling advertisements4 ,and yet his 
artistic personality is so curious and  

so powerful that his posters are nearly 
all interesting to the collector1-more  
interesting to the collector1 it may    
well be1 than satisfactory to the       
advertiser4 ,willette is master of      
several manners4 ,he can be realistic to
 the point of brutality1 symbolical1    
graceful2 while now and then he is      
almost austerely classical4 ,there are1 
happily1 few posters so impregnated with
 race hatred as the anti-,semitic bill  
intended to forward the artist's        
candidature at the ,elections           
legislatives of the #bbnd of ,september1
 #ahhi4 ,the design is ugly in the last 
degree1 but it is1 nevertheless1        
strangely powerful4 ,very different and 
very much more pleasing is the          
lithograph in black-admirably composed  
and executed--which advertised the      
successful pantomime1 entitled          
,l',enfant ,prodigue4 ,the design is at 
once graceful and dramatic1 and it is   
not surprising that a proof before      
letters is one of the gems of a         

collection of the posters of ,willette4 
,no more interesting souvenir of an     
experiment which fascinated both ,paris 
and ,london can be conceived4 ,again1   
the bill advertising the ,international 
,exhibition of ,commerce and ,industry1 
held some time ago at the ,champs de    
,mars 7an unlettered proof of which     
commands no less than two pounds71 is   
very desirable4 ,the little bill in     
colours bearing the legend1             
,ainsi qu'un papillon volage1           
,a qui passe aujourd'hui1 demain sera   
passe4                 ,laisse-toi      
cuellir au passage                      
,papillon d',actualite1  ,illustration3 
#jajj  ,illustration3 #jajb             
,illustration3 #jajd  ,illustration3    
#jajf  ,illustration3 #jajh  is pretty1 
alike in colour and pattern1 and has    
already become rare4  ,entirely         
appropriate to its purpose is the       
,nouveau ,cirque advertisement1 in which
 clowns1 bare-back riders1 and          
performing animals of all kinds-from a  

frog to an elephant-disport themselves  
with the utmost abandon4 ,from this to  
the ,cacao ,van ,houten1 is a far cry4  
,from the point of view of the          
advertiser1 ,willette has done nothing  
better than his life-size study of a    
,dutch waitress in national costume4    
,the thing is very decorative1 and      
succeeds admirably in attracting        
attention3 another and more complicated 
design for the same firm is only a shade
 less successful4 ,this is entitled ,la 
loi defendent le cacao contre le        
chocolat4 ,the other posters of this    
artist include the rare ,petite         
,national1 the ,evenement ,parisien     
7which was1 ,i believe1 suppressed71 the
 ,courrier ,francaise1 the ,exposition  
,charlet1 and the ,elysee ,montmartre4  
,the posters of ,willette are marked by 
variety and ingenuity of invention1 and 
there is little doubt that they will be 
of permanent value as revelations of a  
talent as individual as it is powerful4 
,if the artistic poster is an           

unimportant incident in the career of   
,willette1 it is still more so in that  
of ,forain1 whose essays in this        
direction have been few and far between4
 ,forain is known to nearly every artist
 in ,europe as a great master of black  
and white4  ,few1 if any1 can approach  
him in technical dexterity1 few can     
express so much in so few lines4        
,moreover1 to his technical mastery is  
added a searching power of criticism    
which gives to his work a further1 and a
 most important1 interest4 ,in his      
desire to depict the truth1 the whole   
truth1 and nothing but the truth1 he 7no
 doubt unconsciously7 becomes a         
moralist4 ,he depicts life from no      
sentimental point of view2 he can be    
realistic without seeming to appreciate 
the tragedy which is of the very essence
 of realism1 so that on seeing one of   
his illustrations of modern life1 one   
receives1 apart from technical delight1 
a distinctly literary impression4 ,of   
his posters1 perhaps the earliest is one

 unsigned and without lettering1        
representing an illuminated garden1 in  
which a woman is depicted in the midst  
of an explosion of fireworks4           
,subsequent to this comes a bill to     
advertise one of the novels of ,dubut de
 ,laforest1 which bears the artist's    
signature4 ,the design which announces  
,forain's political drawings for the    
,figaro is of slight importance1 as it  
was not originally intended for a       
poster4 ,in spite of this it is by no   
means easy to meet with4 ,of greater    
interest is the ,exposition des ,arts de
 la ,femme4 ,it was1 however1 only when 
,forain received a commission to produce
 an illustrated advertisement for a     
cycle show that he achieved a really    
memorable poster1 a poster of real charm
 and rare  ,illustration3 #jaab         
,illustration3 #jaad  originality4 ,the 
sport of bicycling seems to have        
fascinated the ,parisienne completely1  
and ,forain has made a charming design1 
in which she is depicted in complete    

enjoyment of the fashionable pastime4   
,the colour scheme is restrained and    
delicate1 and the production1 which     
exists in two sizes1 should certainly be
 found amongst the treasures of every   
amateur of the affiche4  ,the somewhat  
risky pages of the ,gil ,bias ,illustre 
have for a considerable time been       
noticeable to artists1 chiefly on       
account of a series of coloured         
illustrations by ,steinlen4 ,his        
relentless veracity in depicting the    
life of the lower classes of the ,paris 
of to-day is almost without rival4 ,no  
detail of squalor seems to escape him2  
without a tinge of remorse he proceeds  
to inform us of the meanest incidents in
 the tragedy of the poor or vicious     
quarters of the great city4 ,by reason  
of a certain emphasis of colour and     
crudeness of design the art of ,steinlen
 is admirably adapted to the production 
of such human documents4 ,but it cannot 
be maintained that1 whatever their      
technical merits1 these studies of human

 misery are other than unpleasant-even  
painful4 ,it is1 therefore1 altogether  
agreeable1 when one turns to his essays 
in the art of the poster1 to find his   
work graceful rather than tragic1 urbane
 rather than mordant4 ,forsaking his    
mission of realistic illustration1 he   
becomes gay1 dainty1 and fanciful as the
 best of his fellows4 ,even in a higher 
degree than the majority of them1 he    
makes his design appropriate to the     
thing advertised4 ,his decorations are  
spiced with a certain actuality1 and1 in
 being so1 insist more effectively on   
the particular article the merits of    
which it is their business to proclaim4 
,no better example of this could1 ,i    
think1 be put forward than the ,lait pur
 de la ,vingeannesterilise1 a design    
which1 in view of the material to be    
advertised1 is conceived in the happiest
 vein4 ,the pretty little girl drinking 
the milk1 so much coveted of the cats   
which surround her1 is less interesting 
than the animals themselves4 ,the       

draughtsmanship of the latter is        
excellent1 while there is a hint of that
 humanity of expression about the       
creatures which has produced for the    
work of ,landseer so immense a          
popularity4 ,not less admirable1 and of 
still greater interest1 is the poster   
designed to advertise the performances  
of ,yvette ,guilbert at the             
,ambassadeurs4 ,amongst the numerous    
artists to whom the ,sarah ,bernharct of
 the music-halls has given commissions  
none has been more successful than      
,steinlen4 ,the poster represents the   
singer behind the footlights in an      
attitude pre-eminently characteristic4  
,the thing does not amount to a         
caricature1 as does the hitherto        
unpublished delineation of              
,toulouse-,lautrec1 but is merely a     
slightly exaggerated portrait4 ,it is   
remarkably suggestive of a most alluring
 and delightful  ,illustration3 #jaah   
,illustration3 #jabj  personality4 ,as  
an advertisement1 it must be confessed1 

it is not all that could be desired4    
,the colour scheme1 while very dainty1  
is not one which insists on its presence
 on the hoardings1 so that the proximity
 of 7for example7 a ,cheret renders it  
to some extent ineffective4 ,at the same
 time1 it is one of the most charming   
designs of the kind in existence1 and no
 collector should fail to possess       
himself of a copy4 ,it exists in three  
states3 proofs before letters pulled in 
two tints only1 ordinary proofs before  
letters1 and prints after letters4 ,in  
the former state it is rapidly          
increasing in value1 but1 insomuch as   
the lettering is of the essence of the  
design1 the final state is the most     
desirable of all4 ,to advertise an      
exhibition of his own work1 ,steinlen   
produced another study of cats1 which is
 almost as agreeable as the ,lait pur4  
,it is in two states3 proofs before and 
after letters4 ,the artist's design for 
the watering-place1 ,vernet-les-,bains1 
is not very important1 but his early    

,mothu et ,doria1 in three states1      
should not be overlooked4 ,earlier in   
date than any of the designs ,i have    
discussed is the ,trouville and ,le     
,reve4 ,the latter is a pretty          
composition reproduced in               
chromotypo-gravure4 ,while the posters  
of ,steinlen are not so striking on the 
hoarding as those of some of his        
contemporaries1 they are of the highest 
artistic interest1 and will no doubt    
take a place second to none in the      
affections of many collectors4 ,it is   
significant that already the rarest of  
them are by no means easy to procure4   
,the art of ,ibels is as little         
comprised in the poster as that of      
,steinlen4 ,it is happily characteristic
 of young artists of the present day1   
both here and in ,france1 that painting 
is not the only god of their aesthetic  
adoration3  they experiment in many     
mediums1 and it is really remarkable in 
how great a number of such experiments  
they succeed4 ,what is generally true1  

is especially so of ,h4 ,g4 ,ibels4     
,like ,grasset1 he has held an          
exhibition of his pictures at the ,salon
 des ,cent2 he has made his mark in the 
galleries of the ,champs de ,mars2 he   
has designed the covers of several      
pieces of music1 and of a volume of     
poems by his brother1 entitled ,chansons
 ,colorees2 in addition1 he is          
well-known as a book illustrator4 ,his  
point of view is somewhat akin to that  
of ,toulouse-,lautrec3 he is            
passionately interested in his own      
moment1 and depicts modern life with    
similar insistence on its ugly and      
grotesque aspects4 ,and yet ,ibels      
rarely fails to be decorative1 and his  
style is the outcome of his own artistic
 personality1 rather than the result of 
study of the work of other men4 ,in his 
posters he has been conspicuously       
successful2 so much so1 that it is      
difficult to point to a single failure1 
though1 it must be remembered1 that as  
yet his productions have not been very  

numerous4 ,it is possible               
,illustration3 #jabd  ,illustration3    
#jabf  that with some the ,mevisto a    
l',horloge will be deemed his best      
design1 but it can in no sense be       
considered his most original4 ,it       
represents the actor as ,pierrot1 and is
 graceful and pleasing rather than      
characteristic2 indeed1 one would almost
 think that in designing it the artist  
had been at pains to conceal his        
personality4 ,nor is the ,salon des     
,cent-a charming and delicate little    
lithograph-in spite of the ingenuity and
 fantasy of its grouping of ,pierrot1   
,harlequin and ,columbine1 the most     
noteworthy of ,ibels' posters4 ,we see  
him at his most original1 in an         
advertisement for the illustrated paper 
entitled l',escar-mouche1 to which he1  
together with ,lautrec1 ,vuillard1      
,willette1 and ,anquetin1 contributed   
drawings4 ,it represents a cafe of the  
lower class1 such as abounds in the     
workmen's quarter of ,paris4 ,the       

enormously fat patron enthroned behind  
the metal-topped bar1 the waitress1     
cloth in hand1 clad in her slovenly     
dress1 the ouvriers in typical blue     
blouses1 are studies in which accurate  
portraiture has been but slightly       
sacrificed to grotesqueness4 ,the whole 
scene is admirably conceived1 and the   
colour scheme1 though very restrained1  
is certainly telling4 ,those who can do 
so should secure a proof before letters 
of this work1 for the lettering is1 ,i  
believe1 not by the artist himself1 and 
mars the effect of the design1 although 
not in a very marked degree4 ,another   
interesting bill is that done for       
,mevisto's performances at the ,scala   
music-hall2 this is of great size and   
striking originality4 ,but if grotesque 
force1 and the power of reducing scenes 
of modern lower-class life into         
decoration1 are ,ibels' most pronounced 
characteristics1 he can produce posters 
of the suavest charm4 ,amongst all the  
affiches ,i know1 none seems to me more 

delightful than this artist's ,irene    
,henry4 ,the cafe chantant singer whom  
it represents is justly a popular       
favourite with the ,parisian public from
 the fact that she infuses into her     
performances no small amount of         
personality2 moreover1 her art is marked
 by grace and finish4 ,those who would  
see her as she appears to audiences at  
the ,horloge1 without going there1 have 
only to look at ,ibels' poster4 ,with   
the rarest felicity1 he has caught her  
physical individuality4 ,she is         
represented in the act of singing in the
 open air to a crowd in the cafe1       
lighted by the familiar circle of white 
lamps4 ,the line of the figure is most  
expressive3 violet is the predominating 
colour4 ,this poster is worthy a place  
in the ,french music hall series1 which 
includes those designed by ,lautrec for 
,jane ,avril1 by ,steinlen for ,yvette  
,guilbert1 and by an artist whom ,i am  
about to consider1 ,anque-tin1 for      
,marguerite ,dufay4  ,so far as ,i know1

 ,anquetin has only produced two        
affiches of importance1 but each        
,illustration3 #jacj  ,illustration3    
#jacb  of them is worthy of the closest 
attention4 ,the design for ,marguerite  
,dufay is a piece of triumphant         
vulgarity4 ,the subject is a very simple
 one2 it is merely a woman of almost    
impossible fatness who performs at      
various ,parisian music-halls on the    
trombone4 ,having stated this1 one has1 
however1 given no idea of the           
extraordinary qualities of this bill4   
,it is safe to say that1 once seen1 it  
will never be forgotten2 it should have 
made the fortune of the performer whom  
it advertises4 ,the mirth of the thing  
is victorious and infectious2 one seems 
almost to hear the coarse laugh2 the    
ample body in the green dress seems to  
move as one stares at it4 ,in line1 in  
movement1 this poster is1 from a certain
 point of view1 a veritable masterpiece4
 ,an advertisement which is1 it seems to
 me1 altogether more worthy of          

,anquetin's great talent is one designed
 for ,le ,rire1 a recently issued       
journal4 ,it is an extremely fine       
lithograph in a single printing1 and1 as
 at present it can be procured for a few
 shillings1 it should be in the         
possession1 not only of those who care  
for posters as such1 but also of all who
 are amateurs of the beautiful art of   
lithography4 ,in the foreground is the  
figure of a huge man in mediaeval       
costume1 which1 while touched with the  
grotesque1 is splendidly flamboyant ,at 
his side he carries a large portfolio1  
adorned with a grinning mask1 while his 
hands1 which are admirably drawn1 point 
towards a crowd of grinning pigmies     
beneath him4 ,every one of the crowd is 
extremely expressive1 and the effect of 
the whole production is enhanced by very
 excellent lettering4 ,it would be      
difficult to meet with two affiches more
 interesting than the ,marguerite ,dufay
 and ,le ,rire1 and they place ,anquetin
 amongst the masters of the art of the  

poster4  ,if ,anquetin is an artist of  
marked originality1 so1 in a manner     
totally different1 is ,pierre ,bonnard4 
,save in the small number of his        
posters1 he resembles ,anquetin in      
hardly anything2 on the other hand1 his 
work has points of similarity with the  
later work of ,lautrec4 ,the posters of 
both these artists are decorative in a  
curious and somewhat similar sort of    
way1 decorative in spite of their marked
 grotesqueness4 ,between the ,confetti  
of ,lautrec and the ,revue ,blanche of  
,bonnard there is a distinct decorative 
affinity4 ,as both of them are dated the
 same year1 #ahid1 it is needless to    
suggest that either of these intensely  
personal artists has derived anything   
from the other2 there is1 indeed1 no    
evidence whatsoever of imitation1 or    
even influence4 ,of the two best-known  
posters of ,bonnard1 the ,france        
,champagne is the earlier in point of   
time1 having been published in #ahia4   
,it is a lithograph in three colours1   

and represents an extraordinarily       
fantastic1 and extremely decolletee     
girl1 who holds in one hand a           
,illustration3 #jacf  ,illustration3    
#jach  ,illustration3 #jadj             
,illustration3 #jadb  closed fan1 and in
 the other an overflowing glass of      
champagne1 which tumbles about her in a 
great cascade of foam4 ,the background  
is yellow and the girl's dress red1     
while the upper part of the design is   
occupied by the arms of ,paris and the  
text in large letters4 ,the             
draughtsmanship is curious and          
vivacious1 and the colouring            
conspicuously successful4 ,this poster  
is not large1 measuring as it does1 only
 thirty-two by twenty-nine inches4 ,the 
,revue ,blanche1 though of nearly the   
same size1 is much more complicated4 ,in
 the foreground is a woman in huge hat  
and cape1 which partly conceal her face1
 at whom an extraordinarily grotesque   
street urchin points his finger4 ,the   
background is composed of innumerable   

advertisements of the revue1 which a man
 in a great coat and silk hat1 with his 
back to the spectator1 is reading       
attentively4 ,all the figures are in a  
sort of slate colour4 ,the legend is    
admirably introduced into the foreground
 by means of huge white letters4 ,owing 
to the curiosity of its decoration1 this
 specimen of ,bonnard's work is a most  
desirable possession for the collector4 
,it has been the good fortune of        
,valloton to produce at least one poster
 which is excellent from every point of 
view4 ,nothing more appropriate to the  
advertisement of a frivolous burlesque  
than his ,ah6 la ,pe4 la ,pe1 la        
pepiniere could well be imagined4 ,it   
represents a characteristic audience at 
a  ,illustration3 #jadf  ,illustration3 
#jadh  ,illustration3 #jaej             
,illustration3 #jaec  theatre convulsed 
with laughter at what is taking place on
 the stage4 ,the variety of expression  
on the faces of the spectators is       
infinite1 and the effect of the whole   

thing is as mirthful as may be4 ,from   
the advertiser's point of view1 ,i can  
conceive nothing more completely        
satisfactory4 ,it exists in colours and 
in black1 and the latter is the rarer4  
,the same artist's ,carte de ,paris     
would seem already to have become       
scarce4 ,it is a large lithograph in one
 colour2 an example was shown at the    
,poster ,exhibition at the ,royal       
,aquarium4 ,there is also a large       
address card designed by ,valloton for  
,m4 ,sagot4 ,while this is not actually 
a poster it almost amounts to one1 and  
were it to be executed on a large scale1
 it would doubtless be most successful4 
,it is to be hoped that ,valloton1      
encouraged by his universally recognized
 success in the art of the poster1 will 
not altogether give up its practice in  
favour of those other branches of art in
 which he is distinguished4  ,the style 
of ,de ,feure1 if not so well adapted to
 poster work as that of some of his     
contemporaries1 is nevertheless very    

interesting4 ,his most characteristic   
effort is1 perhaps1 the ,salon des      
,cent1 #e;e ,exposition4 ,this design is
 very modern and very fantastic4 ,it    
exists in three states--proofs before   
letters on vellum1 proofs on ,japanese  
paper1 and ordinary prints4 ,the proofs 
before letters command very good prices4
 ,amongst the other posters of ,de      
,feure is that done for the performance 
of the singer1 ,edmee ,lescaut1 at the  
,casino de ,paris2 for the newspaper ,le
 ,diablotin2 and for the ,paris         
,almanach4 ,in addition1 we must not    
overlook the pleasant little design for 
the contents bill of a special issue of 
,to-,day4  ,the posters of ,lucien      
,metivetare of very unequal merit4 ,on  
the one hand the designs done by him for
 ,eugenie ,buffet1 in her realistic     
repertoire of songs1 are extremely      
distinguished4 ,while1 on the other1 ,i 
could point to examples by this artist  
which are utterly unworthy his talent4  
,amongst ,metivet's earlier works are   

,la ,famille1 journal hebdomadaire      
illustre1 and ,l',hygiene4 ,a more      
recent bill advertises ,les ,joyeuses   
commeres de ,paris1 but ,metivet's      
talent is seen at its best in the       
,eugenie ,buffet advertisements1 two    
studies worthy a place amongst the best 
posters which have come from the hands  
of contemporary ,french artists4        
,,chapter ,v4--,,in ,,france3 ,,the     
,,work ,,of ,,guillaume1 ,,paleologue1  
,,chou-,,brac  ,,boutet ,,de ,,monvel1  
,,aman-,,jean1 ,,schwaebe1 ,,sinet1     
,,jossot1 ,,mayet1 ,,and ,,others       
,prominent among the ,french designers  
of posters with whom ,i have not        
previously dealt is ,guillaume1 an      
artist widely known in ,england by      
reason of the admirable illustrations   
which1 from time to time1 appear in our 
periodicals4 ,save ,cheret and          
,choubrac1 few artists have done so much
 poster work as ,guillaume1 and not many
 have maintained so high a level of     
accomplishment4 ,vigour1 vivacity1 and  

high spirits1 rather than beautiful     
design and fine colour1 are the         
characteristic qualities of posters by  
,guillaume4 ,he is1 it seems to me1 seen
 at his best in the admirable ,extrait  
de ,viande ,armour1 which is reproduced 
here4 ,in its way1 and looking to the   
thing to be advertised1 nothing better  
has been done4 ,the gigantic strong man1
 with his huge torso1 colossal arms and 
legs1 holding a tiny teacup in his      
immense hands1 is not easily forgotten4 
,the expression on the man's face is    
inimitable1 and the accessories1 such as
 cannons and dumbbells1 are most        
appropriately chosen4 ,the ,chapeaux    
l'elion is a more complicated design1   
representing a crowd of men wearing hats
 of every conceivable shape4 ,the colour
 of this design is very good1 but its   
chief merit lies in the facial          
expression of the different members of  
the crowd4 ,it would be impossible to   
conceive any single person in a hat     
other than the one he is wearing4 ,in   

another excellent poster we are         
presented with a very fin-de-siecle     
young lady riding astride a stork which 
bears her rapidly through space4 ,it    
would be hopeless to attempt anything   
like a complete list of ,guillaume's    
posters1 but among the most recent are  
the following1 all of which deserve the 
attention of the collector3 ,dentifrices
 du ,dr4 ,bonn1 ,gigolette1 ,old        
,england1 ,le ,pole ,nord1 ,cycles      
,vincent fils1 ,le ,vin d',or 7in two   
sizes1 unsigned71 ,parfumerie ,diaphane2
 le ,diaphane ,sarah ,bernhardt1        
,l'ouvre de ,rabelais par ,j4 ,gamier1  
and ,ducreux et ,giralduc               
7,ambassadeurs74  ,although a           
,frenchman1 the work of ,jean de        
,paleologue1 or ,pal1 as he is more     
frequently called1 is perhaps better    
known to the ,londoner than to the      
,parisian4 ,his  ,illustration3 #jaei   
,illustration3 #jafa  ,illustration3    
#jafc  ,illustration3 #jafe  bright and 
flippant posters can be seen any day on 

the ,london hoardings1 and ,i have1     
therefore1 purposely selected for       
reproduction two examples in his less   
usual manner4 ,the ,lucile ,wraim is of 
an elegance to which ,paleologue does   
not often attain1 and would be          
distinguished in almost any collection  
of posters4 ,the ,euskal ,jai ,parisien1
 besides being a good advertisement1 is 
curious on account of its subject4      
,collectors who would possess a more    
typical example of ,paleologue's work   
would be well advised to secure one or  
more of his music-hall series or his    
,cabourg1 an advertisement for the      
watering-place of that name4 ,it is a   
large lithograph in five colours1 and   
represents a very charming lady who1    
while bathing1 is bent upon displaying  
her charms to the utmost4 ,while        
,paleologue can in no sense be compared 
to ,cheret in his gift of diffusing     
joyousness and gaiety1 his work is      
undoubtedly chic1 and rarely fails in   
its first business of advertisement4    

,some of his posters have become        
difficult to procure1 notably one       
designed for a ,drury ,lane pantomime   
some few years since4  ,no artist1 save 
,jules ,cheret1 has been more           
indefatigable in the making of posters  
than ,choubrac4 ,the list given in ,m4  
,maindron's book is a long one2 that    
given in the catalogues of ,m4 ,sagot is
 still longer4 ,the posters of ,choubrac
 do not seem to have received so much   
attention at the hands of collectors as 
those of some of his better-known       
contemporaries4 ,at the same time1 not a
 few of them are interesting and rare4  
,the bill done for the ,fin de ,siecle  
was suppressed1 and1 as a consequence1  
is in great demand4 ,it exists in four  
states1 three of which1 in good         
condition1 command no less than fifty   
francs4 ,merely to give the names of the
 music-halls and theatres for which     
,choubrac has worked would take up the  
better part of a page1 while a list of  
the artistes whom he has advertised     

would be still longer4 ,amongst the most
 noticeable of his recent bills are the 
following3 ,eldorado4 ,y'a pas d'erreur1
 ,folies ,bergere4 ,armand ,ary1 ,folies
 ,bergere4 ,programme1 ,folies          
,dramatiques4 ,miss ,robinson1 ,moulin  
,rouge4 ,au ,joyeux1                    
,neuilly-sur-,seine4 ,fete des fleurs1  
and ,gaiete4 ,rosa et ,josepha 7in two  
states74  ,an artist more unlike        
,choubrac than ,maurice ,boutet de      
,monvel it would be assuredly impossible
 to find1 and the fact that these names 
are in juxtaposition must be taken as   
proof that no systematic arrangement has
 been attempted in this chapter4 ,boutet
 de ,monvel is a painter of ,european   
reputation4 ,his fame as an illustrator 
for1 and a delineator of1 children      
stands very high4 ,his studies of       
child-life are unlike those of any other
 artist4 ,they display the keenest      
observation and1 as ,mr4 ,pennell has   
rightly observed1 one finds in them not 
a line without  ,illustration3 #jafi    

,illustration3 #jaga  meaning4 ,boutet  
de ,monvel has1 ,i believe1 produced    
only three posters4 ,two of them are    
among the most charming things seen on  
the ,paris hoardings for  ,illustration3
 #jagc  many a long day4 ,both of these 
are comparatively small4 ,that which is 
earlier in date1 ,petite ,poucette1 was 
originally designed as a cover for a    
piece of music1 but1 when reproduced on 
a larger scale1 was found to be         
thoroughly effective as a poster4 ,more 
dainty1 if not more characteristic of   
the art of ,boutet de ,monvel1 is the   
,pate ,dentifrice du ,dr4 ,pierre4 ,in  
this design1 one of the prettiest and   
most delightful little ladies in the    
whole ,monvel gallery of pretty little  
ladies insists on the merit of the      
tooth-paste which1 if it be half as good
 as she is charming1 must be excellent  
indeed4 ,every artist knows his own     
business best1 but one can only hope    
that1 in what leisure he can snatch from
 his work in paint and illustration1    

,boutet de ,monvel will place the       
collector of posters under new          
obligations to him4 ,his note as a      
decorator of the hoardings is as        
distinct as it is agreeable4  ,a very   
interesting figure in modern design is  
undoubtedly ,carloz ,schwaebe4 ,one of  
the leading lights of that curious      
institution the ,salon ,rose  ,croix1 it
 would indeed be curious if ,schwaebe   
did anything commonplace4 ,his posters  
are as remarkable as those other        
productions with which he has delighted 
some and puzzled not a few4 ,mystic1    
slightly archaic1 they are the work of a
 man of poetical temperament who has    
chosen the graphic arts instead of      
literature as his means of expression4  
,the two posters from his hand are very 
decorative in their strange way1 and    
contain passages of great beauty4 ,in   
the  ,illustration3 #jage               
,illustration3 #jagg  kneeling woman is 
remarkably impressive1 while the irises 
amidst which she kneels are beautifully 

drawn4 ,the lettering of this poster is 
most original1 and the designer has     
evidently taken great pains with it4 ,it
 is a lithograph in two colours1 and    
measures forty-two and a half by        
thirty-one and a half inches4           
,schwaebe's larger poster1 the ,salon   
,rose  ,croix1 is in one colour only1   
and is a good example of his work4 ,so  
far this curiously-gifted artist has    
confined himself to advertising a       
concert and a picture show2 it is not to
 be expected that he will ever          
condescend to soap or extract of beef4  
,another of the ,rose  ,croix men1      
,aman-,jean1 has done a poster for the  
,salon which rivals in curiosity the    
productions of ,schwaebe himself4  ,a   
little advertisement which had1 it may  
well be1 some influence on the poster   
movement in ,england1 was that by which 
,andre ,sinet advertised an exhibition  
of his own works held at the ,goupil    
,gallery in #ahic4 ,this was an         
attractive little bit of design of which

 the colour was very agreeable4 ,in     
addition to it1 ,sinet has done the     
inevitable poster for ,yvette ,guilbert4
 ,another painter of talent who has made
 an advertisement for an exhibition of  
his own work is ,h4 ,guerard4 ,it       
represents a group of ravens and is in  
poker work4 ,it would appear to be rare1
 as it is quoted in none of the         
catalogues4 ,a copy1 exhibited at the   
,aquarium in #ahid1 is in the collection
 of ,mr4 ,ernest ,hart4 ,still another  
artist who  ,illustration3 #jagi        
,illustration3 #jaha  ,illustration3    
#jahc  ,illustration3 #jahe  has1 ,i    
believe1 done only one poster1 is       
,goissaud4 ,his design was to advertise 
the ,societe des miniaturistes et       
enlumineurs de ,france1 and is a        
lithograph in one colour4 ,among the    
,salon des ,cent series we have1 besides
 the admirable posters of ,grasset and  
,ibels already alluded to1 a very       
grotesque and effective little design by
 ,jossot4 ,it represents an amazing old 

gentleman of weird aspect1 in cocked    
hat1 paying his franc for admission to  
the exhibition4 ,of its kind it is      
effective enough4 ,another1 by ,cazoly1 
with a curious portrait of ,paul        
,verlaine is reproduced here4  ,it is   
certainly with no view to hurt the      
feelings of those artists whose names do
 not head this chapter that they are    
represented by a mere et cetera4 ,it    
must be understood that one of the least
 polite of contractions1 in this case1  
involves no discourtesy whatsoever4     
,for example1 ,i may instance such able 
work as ,gruen's ,le ,carillon3 cabaret 
artistique4 ,few posters are more vivid 
or more actual than this4 ,the price of 
it is a matter of pence1 and it should  
certainly not be neglected by those whom
 it amuses to collect the affiche       
illustre4 ,gruen1 in addition to ,le    
,carillon1 has produced ,poleon-,revue3 
,decadent's ,concert1 and in addition a 
design for an insurance company4 ,one of
 the most charming of the more recent   

,french posters is one by ,h4 ,gray1    
dealing with ,la ,pretentaine1 a play   
produced some time ago at the ,nouveau  
,theatre4 ,in addition he has advertised
 ,la ,bonita at the ,cirque d',ete1 ,les
 ,mousquetaires1 at the same place1 ,les
 ,saltimbanques at the ,cirque d',hiver1
 and the bal masque at the ,theatre de  
l',opera4 ,the last is perhaps the best 
known of his affiches4 ,among others1   
,bac has done a poster for ,yvette      
,guilbert at the ,horloge1 which is     
signed and dated #ahib4 ,the bicycling  
craze has called into existence a       
perfect torrent of posters1 and ,bac1   
together with ,gray1 ,guillaume1 ,lunel1
 and ,paleologue1 have produced posters 
of more or less interest4 ,a gentleman  
who is sufficiently modest not to state 
his name1 did a design which called     
forth the wrath of the authorities4     
,whereupon an artist called ,lepur      
designed an affiche bearing the         
significant legend1 of which this is a  
translation3 ,grand choice of           

vine-leaves 7fig-leaves7 of all sizes   
for posters1 as demanded by the virtuous
 journals1 the ',t7emps '71 the         
',g7aulois '71 and the ',d7ebats '74    
,the following is a list1 with the names
 of typical examples of their work1 of  
some other ,french artists of           
distinction who have designed posters3  
,barbizet 7,la branche cassee71         
,bouisset 7,f47 7,bazar de              
l',hotel-de-,ville1 ,exposition de      
jouets1 ,chocolat ,menier71 ,desicy     
7,h47 7,un heritage1 roman71 ,dutriac   
7,ambassadeurs3 ,danseuses ,espagnols71 
,faria 7,ba-ta-clan3 ,illustration3     
#jahi ,paulus71 ,dufay 7,portrait17     
7,les ,rey ,nol's71 ,galice 7,g47       
7,concert parisien3 ,esther ,lekain1    
,fete des ,fleurs1 ,paulan ,brebion1    
,scala3 ,jeanne ,bloch71 ,guydo         
7,eldorado3 ,aimee ,eymard71 ,honer     
7,concert parisien3 ,bonnaire71 ,hope   
7,gaiete3 ,tour de ,nesle71 ,huvey      
7,gras-side71 ,lamy 7,l47 7,le capitaine
 ,henriot1 opera comique1 ,theatre      

national lyrique71 ,lebegue 7,l47 7,bals
 travestes et tableaux vivants71        
,lefevre 7,l47 7,cacao lacte1           
,electricine1 ,l'hiver a ,nice71 ,levy  
7,e47 7,chatelet ,michel ,strogoff1     
,cirque d',hiver3 ,caravane dans le     
desert1 ,folies ,bergere3 ,vue de la    
salle1 ,petit national3 ,le prince      
,mouffetard71 ,meunier 7,g47 7,papier a 
cigarettes ,job1 ,parfumerie ,edea1 ,le 
,sahara a ,paris3 ,champ de ,mars71     
,truchet 7,a47 7,cabaret des ,quat'z'   
,arts1 ,eldorado3 ,alice ,berthier47    
,it will have been noticed already how  
great apart the music-hall and the cafe 
chantant play in the history of the     
pictorial poster4 ,yvette ,guilbert has 
been the cause of a baker's dozen of    
affiches2 ,anna ,thibaud 7that charming 
singer of the songs of ,beranger72 ,anna
 ,held1 with her curious manner1 and    
still more curious appearance2 ,irene   
,henri1 of intense personality2 ,jane   
,avril1 and ,may ,belfort2 to say       
nothing of ,aristide ,bruant1 of        

,caudieux1 of ,paulus1 and the rest of  
the school who have made the music-hall 
stage of ,france a matter of no small   
importance  ,illustration3 #jaia  in her
 social life1 have been favourite       
subjects of the designers of posters4   
,it has always been held that the career
 of an actor1 in consideration of its   
evanescence1 is not  ,illustration3     
#jaic  without a certain pathos4 ,it is 
true that we remember1 through the      
gossip of their friends1 ,garrick and   
,mrs4 ,siddons1 ,talma and ,rachel1 but 
even these are uncertain phantoms       
lingering in the haze of memory4 ,only  
yesterday they were intensely actual1   
to-day they are not more real than      
,burbage and ,betterton4 ,after all1 the
 history of the actor's art is not      
without its immortals4 ,macaulay's      
schoolboy could doubtless have related  
the compliment of ,dr4 ,johnson to ,mrs4
 ,siddons3 the latest escapade of the   
great ,sarah is the joy of the          
paragrapher4 ,the music-hall1 however1  

has still no artist in any country      
7save1 perhaps1 the unforgettable       
,yvette7 who has much chance of         
permanent remembrance4 ,but when the    
toil and moil of existence is ended1    
when the singer has sung his last song1 
it may chance that he will be remembered
 because some collector of such         
unconsidered trifles as picture posters 
has placed in his portfolio a work of   
,cheret or of ,lautrec4  ,to turn from  
the music-halls to the great railway    
companies is an emphatic transition1 and
 yet the former1 no less than the latter
 have done much to encourage the artist 
to apply his talent to the affiche4 ,the
 ,great ,western ,railway ,company have 
illustrated at their stations and in    
their carriages1 by means of            
photography1 all that is romantic and   
interesting in the country through which
 their line runs4 ,and1 again1 the great
 lines of the ,united ,states have      
brought into vogue vast systems of      
pictorial advertisement4 ,their         

opportunity was undoubtedly a           
magnificent one4 ,for subject           
,illustration3 #jaie  ,illustration3    
#jaig  matter they had some of those    
vast natural developments which appeal  
to mere man as absolutely terrific4 ,the
 waterfall1 splashing itself into       
luminous dust1 the immense and silent   
mountains1 the lakes which are seas1 the
 vasty canons which occur in different  
parts of the ,states1 inevitably appeal 
to the imagination4 ,it is therefore not
 wonderful that the great lines of      
,america have preferred literal and     
exact illustration to fantastic         
delineation4 ,the railways of ,france1  
on the other hand1 have employed to no  
inconsiderable extent the artist to     
figure the beauties of the places at    
which they have stations4 ,amongst the  
most important ,french designers who    
have worked at the railway affiche      
are3-,fraipont 7,g473 7,chemin de fer de
 l',etat3 ,bains de mer de ,royan3      
,royan sur l',ocean1 ,chemin de fer     

d',orleans3 ,excursions en ,tou-raine3  
,excursions en ,touraine et aux chateaux
 des bords de la ,loire1 ,chemin de fer 
de l',ouest3 ,argenteuil a ,mantes1 ,cie
 de l',ouest et de ,brighton3 ,fleurs1  
fruits1 primeurs a destination de       
,londres1 ,paris a ,londres             
7,l',angleterre et l',ecosse7 ,chemin de
 fer du ,nord3 ,excursions a la mer1    
,chemin de fer de l',est3 ,royat1       
,chemin de fer de l',ouest3 ,bretagne1  
,normandie1 ,normandie et ,bretagne1    
,chemin de fer de l',ouest a ,brighton3 
,paris a ,londres1 ,chemin de fer du    
,nord3 ,anvers1 ,exposition             
universelle47 ,ochoa3 7,club ,train1    
,mediterranee1 ,express 7,cie ,int4 des 
wagons-lits71 ,orient-,express1         
,peninsular-,express74 ,hugo d',alesi   
7affiches simili-aquarelles73 ,paris1   
,lyons1 ,marseilles1 ,algerie1 ,geneve1 
,l'hiver a ,nice1 7two subjects71 ,lac  
de ,thoune1 ,mont ,revard1 ,le ,mont    
,rose1 ,le ,puy1 ,tunisie1 ,la ,turbie1 
,uriage-les-,bains1 ,chemin de fer du   

,midi3 ,pyrenees1 ,chemin de fer        
d',orleans3 ,excursions en ,auvergne    
7#ahid71 ,la ,creuse et l',indre1       
,chemin de fer de l',ouest3 ,dieppe1    
,l',auvergne 7,orleans74 ,lefevre 7,l473
 ,nord4 ,ete a ,cobourg1 ,orleans       
,excursions aux ,pyrenees1 ,bains de mer
 du ,golfe de ,gascogne1 ,ouest         
,excursions sur les cotes de ,normandie1
 en ,bretagne1 et a l'ile de ,jersey4   
,among other designers for ,french      
railway companies and watering-places   
may be named ,orazi1 whose ,trouville   
poster is reproduced on p4 #aha1        
,balzer1 ,baylac1 ,japhet1 and ,oge4    
,illustration3 #jbja  ,illustration3    
#jbjc     ,,chapter ,,vi4--,,in         
,,england3 ,,from ,,fred ,,walker ,,to  
,,dudley ,,hardy  ,while the pictorial  
poster undoubtedly existed in ,england  
previous to the production of ,fred     
,walker's ,woman in ,white1 its artistic
 qualities were conspicuous by their    
absence4 ,no body of artists who        
designed posters1 such as that of which 

,ga-varni was one in ,france1 is to be  
met with in the history of ,english art 
until the present day4 ,while1 as ,mr4  
,spielmann reminds us in a recent       
magazine article1 ,mr4 ,godfroy ,durand 
and ,mr4 ,walter ,crane had both        
attempted the artistic affiche previous 
to ,walker1 the efforts of neither made 
a pronounced impression1 nor were they  
productive of permanent results4 ,the   
work of the first of these three artists
 announced the appearance of the then   
newly-founded ,graphic1 and that of ,mr4
 ,walter ,crane proclaimed the merits of
 a brand of lead pencils4 ,it is        
interesting1 as an example of ,mr4      
,crane's immense versatility in         
decorative design1 that he should be    
among the pioneers of the poster        
movement in this country4 ,that his     
early effort was overshadowed by        
,walker's very imposing work is not a   
matter of surprise4 ,from the first1    
,walker appears to have been deeply     
impressed by the possibilities of the   

hoardings as a free art gallery4 ,to use
 his own words1 as quoted by ,mr4       
,spielmann3 ,i am impressed on doing all
 ,i can with a first attempt at what ,i 
consider might develop into a most      
important branch of art4 ,how ,walker's 
view has been realized the mere         
existence of this book is sufficient to 
prove4 ,this design1 which was done to  
advertise ,wilkie ,collins's novel1 ,the
 ,woman in ,white1 represents a         
magnificently-draped female figure      
stepping through a door out into the    
night4 ,with one hand she opens the     
door1 with the other she imposes silence
 on some person unseen4 ,this was cut on
 wood by ,w4 ,h4 ,hooper1 who also      
engraved the small block we are         
permitted to reproduce here from ,the   
,magazine of ,art4 ,the design is in    
black and white1 and has the limitations
 from the advertising point of view of  
black and white work2 but1 apart from   
this1 it is in every way a work which   
could not fail to impress the passer-by4

 ,the ,woman in ,white is1              
unfortunately1 ,walker's sole essay in  
the art of the poster2 on the other     
hand1 ,mr4 ,walter ,crane has produced a
 series which1 we may hope1 has yet to  
close4 ,it would seem that over ten     
years elapsed between his first and     
second attempts in the art of the       
poster4 ,we meet with him for the second
 time in a design in blue and yellow    
,illustration3 #jbjg  which advertised  
the ,covent ,garden ,promenade ,concerts
 given in #ahhj4 ,this has become       
extremely rare1 and the artist himself  
does not1 ,i believe1 possess a copy4   
,following the ,covent ,garden bill was 
one announcing the performances in      
,london of the ,paris ,hippodrome       
,troupe4 ,this is merely an enlargement 
on a vast scale of a classical drawing  
intended to adorn a book describing the 
show1 but it is distinctly interesting1 
more so1 it seems to me1 than the pretty
 little coloured thing-a window-bill1   
rather than a poster-which advertises   

,hau's champagnes4 ,other posters by    
,mr4 ,crane deal with an exhibition of  
his own works1 with various insurance   
companies1 with the ,english            
,illustrated ,magazine 7an enlarged     
version of the cover71 and the          
exhibitions of the ,arts and ,crafts    
,society4 ,it will be seen that ,mr4    
,crane's contribution to the art of the 
poster is a very substantial one1 and if
 his designs do not always fulfil the   
sweet uses of advertisement1 they are   
generally marked by fine taste4 ,it is a
 matter of common knowledge that        
,professor ,herkomer has left hardly any
 art or craft untouched1 and it         
therefore goes without saying that he   
has left some of them unadorned4 ,to    
succeed as painter1 etcher1 carver1     
musician1 poet and playwright1 lecturer1
 and actor is not given to mere man4    
,professor ,herkomer's posters cannot1  
,i think1 be considered among his more  
fortunate performances4 ,that done for  
,the ,magazine of ,art does not lack a  

certain feeling for composition3 the    
weird  ,illustration3 #jbji             
,illustration3 #jbaa  ,illustration3    
#jbac  ,illustration3 #jbae  creature   
who told us that ,black and ,white was  
coming seemed to me to lack both dignity
 and grace1 and1 moreover1 to possess   
very few compensating qualities4        
,amongst other posters by ,professor    
,herkomer is one for his own exhibition1
 and one for an exhibition of pictures  
recently held at ,oxford4  ,it should be
 noted that while most of the mural     
decorations of ,mr4 ,crane and          
,professor ,herkomer are1 strictly      
speaking1 posters1 in that they were    
designed for the hoardings and for the  
hoardings alone1 a great many designs   
and pictures by eminent artists have    
been reproduced and posted contrary to  
the original intention of their         
designers4 ,the most prominent of these 
is1 of course1 ,sir ,john ,millais'     
famous ,bubbles1 on the reproduction of 
which enormous sums have been spent4    

,the thing is pretty enough1 but cannot 
compete as an advertisement with a      
really good poster properly so called4  
,of course the name of ,sir ,john       
,millais was one to conjure with1 and   
the success of the thing has been1      
doubtless1 great4 ,but it is not an     
experiment one cares to see frequently  
repeated4 ,messrs4 ,pears were more     
happily inspired in the commission which
 they gave to ,mr4 ,stacy ,marks to     
produce a bona fide poster4 ,his ,monks 
,shaving1 seems to be most excellently  
conceived1 and1 indeed1 to be the most  
interesting of ,messrs4 ,pears          
,illustration3 #jbai  ,illustration3    
#jbba  gallery of illustrated           
advertisements4 ,art has certainly      
played a very prominent part in the     
battle of the soaps4 ,mr4 ,g4 ,d4       
,leslie used his gifts to insist on the 
merits of the ,sunlight brand1 while    
,mr4 ,burton ,barber pleaded pictorially
 for the ,lifebuoy brand4 ,a curious bit
 of poster-making was the reproduction  

of a random sketch of a girl sitting on 
a champagne cork1 by ,mr4 ,linley       
,sambourne1 which seems to meet us at   
every turning4 ,again1 ,mr4 ,harry      
,furniss's man who had used ,pears' soap
 years back1 and since then had used no 
other1 is an enlarged reproduction used 
for advertising purposes of a drawing in
 ,punch4 ,on the other hand1 the        
,minerva1 which ,mr4 ,poynter designed  
for the ,guardian ,assurance ,company1  
was actually devised for the purpose of 
a mural advertisement4 ,it cannot be    
strictly called a poster1 insomuch as it
 is never seen in the open air unless   
glazed4 ,it is a classical design in    
several colours1 and is of a very       
elaborate character4 ,for the purpose of
 exhibition indoors1 it is glazed and   
mounted on linen with rollers4 ,another 
contemporary ,english painter who has   
received very high official recognition 
and has done a poster is ,sir ,james    
,linton1 ,p4,r4,i4 ,his subject was     
assuredly an attractive one1 ,antony and

 ,cleopatra1 but it can hardly be       
maintained that1 for an artist of so    
great repute1 he has produced an        
especially memorable design4 ,it is a   
lithograph in one colour1 and measures  
fifty by fifty-two inches4 ,its date is 
#ahgd1 so it is clear that ,sir ,james  
,linton is among the little band who    
tried to do something for the pictorial 
poster in  ,england when it was held of 
no account4 ,mr4 ,charles ,green1 a     
member of the institution of which ,sir 
,james is president1 produced a rather  
ingenious advertisement of an exhibition
 of works in black and white held some  
time ago in ,mosley ,street4 ,it        
,illustration3 #jbbc  ,illustration3    
#jbbf  is not very large1 and is a      
lithograph in one colour4  ,it will be  
observed that the artistic poster was in
 the air in ,england not very long after
 it began to develop in ,france4 ,it    
does not1 however1 seem to have taken so
 great a hold on ,english artists or on 
the ,english public as on the artists   

and public of ,france4 ,in ,england the 
artistic poster appears to have been    
received coldly or with indifference1   
and doubtless many designers who would  
have been glad to turn their attention  
to the poster were deterred therefrom by
 lack of public sympathy4 ,but all this 
has happily been changed1 and if the    
number of poster designers is to        
continue increasing at the present rate1
 the difficulty will be1 not to find the
 artistic advertiser1 but to find the   
thing to be advertised4 ,a crowd of     
clever young men1 actuated by the       
success which met the efforts of the    
designers dealt with in the next        
chapter1 have rushed to the poster with 
results altogether important4           
,,chapter ,,vii4--,,in ,,england3 ,,the 
,,work ,,of ,,dudley ,,hardy1 ,,aubrey  
,,beardsley  ,,and ,,maurice            
,,greiffenhagen  ,the ,english artists  
of established reputation with whom ,i  
dealt in the last chapter1 were1 as we  
saw1 so anxious to inform their posters 

with aesthetic qualities1 that for the  
most part1 they overlooked the obvious  
fact that their work was vain unless it 
really fulfilled its primary purpose of 
advertising4 ,it was left for the three 
men 7all of comparatively recent        
reputation7 whose names head this       
chapter1 to give the right direction2 to
 insist that not art1 but advertisement1
 was the first essential4 ,it is not for
 an instant to be pretended that their  
achievement equals in importance that of
 the three designers discussed in a     
corresponding chapter in the section of 
this book devoted to ,france4 ,quantity 
of production1 it is true1 is a small   
matter in art2 and yet1 in so far as    
quantity of production entails          
experience1 one is forced to take it    
into consideration4 ,the success of a   
man who has produced a hundred posters1 
or more1 is scarcely to be expected of a
 designer1 however ingenious1 who is    
only making his first attempt4          
,moreover1 to an artist accustomed to   

work on a small scale1 it is a matter of
 extreme difficulty to appreciate1 and  
when in the throes of production to keep
 in mind1 the essentials of a design    
intended to be seen at a considerable   
distance1 in the open air4 ,he is apt to
 be tempted into pretty detail or subtle
 and harmonious colour1 and therefore to
 forget that he should be simple almost 
to the point of crudeness4 ,under these 
circumstances1 it is not less remarkable
 than it is encouraging1 that ,mr4      
,hardy1 ,mr4 ,beardsley1 and ,mr4       
,greiffenhagen in their earliest essays 
apprehended the situation at once1 and  
produced posters which inevitably caught
 the eye of the beholder and created an 
impression which remained with him for a
 considerable time4 ,differing in all   
else1 the first designs of these three  
artists were alike1 in that they were   
admirable advertisements4 ,from every   
hoarding in ,london1 from the walls of  
every station on the ,underground       
,railway1 one was vehemently called upon

 to purchase a new weekly1 or a new     
series of an old one1 or to visit the   
,avenue ,theatre4 ,if the call was      
resisted1 it was assuredly no fault of  
these artist-advertisers4 ,to suggest   
that what they have done would have been
 impossible1  ,illustration3 #jbcj      
,illustration3 #jbca  or at least       
improbable1 if ,france had not paved the
 way1 is scarcely to discount their     
immediate and unequivocal success3 even 
the greatest artist is unwise if he does
 not condescend to make use of the work 
of the past4  ,it is1 ,i think1 ,mr4    
,dudley ,hardy who1 of the three artists
 named1 owes most to ,france4 ,he has   
made a variation1 a very personal and   
alluring variation1 be it said1 of a    
theme essentially ,gallic in its        
unrestrained gaiety1 its reckless       
joyousness4 ,there is something of      
,cheret1 and there is even more of ,jan 
,van ,beers1 in the end-of-the-century  
girl1 elegant as she is impudent1 whom  
,mr4 ,hardy depiets with such amazing   

verve and abandon4 ,she is too          
light-hearted1 too irresponsible1 to be 
a daughter of this land of grey and     
rainy skies2 she takes nothing          
seriously1 save perchance a detail of   
her costume4 ,and yet she is stamped    
with ,mr4 ,hardy's personality as       
thoroughly as are the charming          
,parisiennes of ,cheret with the        
individuality of their inventor4 ,mr4   
,hardy began1 and began wisely1 by      
trusting for his effect to a single bold
 figure4 ,elaborate composition implies 
detail1 and detail is one of the        
pitfalls of the designer of posters4    
,take1 for example1 the vast sheets     
which were employed to advertise one of 
the spectacles at ,olympia4 ,the        
overcrowding of small figures and       
closely-realized views either produced  
no impression whatsoever on the         
spectator1 or at the most an impression 
due entirely to the immensity of the    
sheets4 ,mr4 ,hardy's series of posters 
commenced most auspiciously with that   

audacious young lady in a yellow dress1 
saucy hat1 and flying black boa1 who1   
not deigning to entreat1 compelled the  
passer-by to rush to the nearest        
bookstall for a copy of ,mr4 ,jerome's  
weekly ,to-,day4 ,later1 in similar     
vein1 came the dashing girl in red1 used
 by the manager of the ,prince of       
,wales's ,theatre to insist on the      
merits of ,a ,gaiety ,girl4 ,it may be  
doubted whether any more effective mural
 advertisement has ever been seen in    
,london than that formed by half-a-dozen
 copies of this poster1 arranged in the 
manner of a frieze in front of the      
theatre during the run of the piece4 ,if
 the idea was that of the bill-sticker1 
the man was a genius of his kind3 ,i    
cannot help suspecting1 however1 that   
the striking arrangement was due to ,mr4
 ,hardy himself4 ,or perhaps it was the 
happy thought of an outsider4 ,in       
addition to the large ,gaiety ,girl     
poster1 the two smaller bills which this
 artist designed to advertise the same  

play1 full as they were of dash and go1 
must not be overlooked4 ,to the         
collector they have a merit which he    
will not fail to appreciate4 ,they are  
of manageable size1 and this is more    
than can be said of most of ,mr4        
,hardy's productions4 ,it must not be   
thought1 however1 that  ,illustration3  
#jbcd  ,mr4 ,hardy can do no more than  
repeat with slight variety of detail the
 chic girl to whom he first introduced  
us2 already1 notwithstanding the        
comparatively small number of his       
designs1 he has shown a very commendable
 versatility4 ,the proprietors of ,st4  
,paul's1 in the days when that journal  
regaled its readers on the portraits1   
not of dancing girls1 but of right      
reverend prelates1 commissioned ,mr4    
,hardy for a large design appropriate to
 the semi-ecclesiastical character of   
their journal4 ,the choice1 in view of  
the ,yellow ,girl1 was a somewhat       
curious one2 but the experiment         
justified itself4 ,the artist rose to   

the occasion2 on the hoardings of       
,london there appeared a woman of       
austere1 even saintly1 demeanour1 clad  
in sombre robes1 and armed with a spike 
of the ,madonna lily4 ,in spite of the  
low scheme of colour1 the design was    
very telling as an advertisement4 ,it   
has become very rare2 indeed1           
notwithstanding the fad2 that the       
dealers quote it at various prices in   
their catalogues1 it may be questioned  
whether it is to be procured at all4    
,when the policy of ,st4 ,paul's was    
changed--when it stepped down from its  
shrine to join the multitude and be of  
the world1 worldly--the art of ,mr4     
,hardy was once more called in to       
introduce the paper in its new guise4   
,for the first time1 so far as ,i know1 
he attempted composition4 ,his idea was 
a happy one4 ,the poster represented a  
young lady1 evidently light-hearted and 
of unquestionably fantastic costume1    
see-sawing on a quarter of the moon with
 a gentleman of slight intellect1 but   

exceedingly smart clothes4 ,seen under  
certain conditions the composition is   
distinctly effective1 but from a long   
distance it fails to assert itself as do
 ,mr4 ,hardy's simpler designs4 ,in his 
most recent effort he has returned to   
the single figure1 and he has done      
nothing more striking than his bill for 
,the ,chieftain1 at the ,savoy ,theatre1
 which represents a man in picturesque  
costume on a red ground4 ,the lettering 
of nearly all ,mr4 ,hardy's posters is  
admirable4 ,it is invented by the artist
 himself1 and forms an essential part of
 the design4 ,for the rest1 it should be
 remembered that the poster is a mere   
incident in ,mr4 ,hardy's art career4   
,as an illustrator he is with us        
everywhere2 as a painter he is held in  
deserved esteem4 ,it is to be hoped1 for
 the sake of the artistic poster in     
,england1 that he will continue to      
devote some of his time to a branch of  
art in which1 in comparatively a short  
time1 he has so greatly succeeded4  ,the

 art of ,mr4 ,aubrey ,beardsley has been
 so enthusiastically received1 on the   
one hand1 as a new revelation1 and so   
passionately condemned1 on the other1 as
 the mere glorification of a hideous and
 putrescent aspect of modern life1 that 
it is difficult to consider his work    
with calmness4 ,one thing1 however1 is  
certain3 an impression  ,illustration3  
#jbch  ,illustration3 #jbdj  of some    
kind1 whether agreeable or the reverse1 
it has undoubtedly left upon all who    
have seen it4 ,it cannot be dismissed by
 stating that it is derivative rather   
than original2 that to a large extent it
 is the outcome of ,japan1 and in a less
 degree of the old ,english school of   
caricaturists4 ,whether it be good or   
bad1 the extraordinary impression it has
 made cannot be gainsaid4 ,it is        
probable that the work of no young      
designer of recent times has called     
forth so much homage of imitation1 so   
great an amount of that kind of         
caricature which is among the sincerest 

forms of flattery4 ,mr4 ,beardsley's    
eccentricities are so pronounced1 that  
to parody his work was simply to do the 
obvious4 ,from ,punch1 august by reason 
of its fifty years of tradition1 to the 
poorest comic rag produced to catch the 
errand-boy's spare halfpenny1 is a far  
cry2 and yet the former1 no less than   
the latter1 has treated its readers to a
 series of pictorial ,beardsleyisms4 ,it
 would have been wonderful1 indeed1 if  
,mr4 ,beardsley1 who is nothing if not  
modern1 had not attempted the artistic  
poster4 ,his opportunity came when the  
,avenue ,theatre was taken by an        
enthusiastic and courageous young       
actress for the production of plays by  
living ,english writers1 which1 whatever
 their fate from the commercial point of
 view1 were at least to possess definite
 merits as pieces of literature4 ,in    
order to advertise ,dr4 ,todhunter's    
,comedy of ,sighs1 and ,mr4 ,g4 ,bernard
 ,shaw's ,arms and the ,man1 ,mr4       
,beardsley excelled himself1 and        

designed perhaps the most remarkable    
poster ever seen1 up to that time1 in   
,london4  ,nothing so compelling1 so    
irresistible1 had ever been posted on   
the hoardings of the metropolis before4 
,some gazed at it with awe1 as if it    
were the final achievement of modern    
art2 others jeered at it as a palpable  
piece of buffoonery3 everybody1 however1
 from the labourer hurrying in the dim  
light of the morning to his work1 to the
 prosperous stockbroker on his way to   
the ,house1 was forced to stop and look 
at it4 ,hence1 it fulfilled its primary 
purpose to admiration2 it was a most    
excellent advertisement4 ,the old       
theatrical poster represented1 in       
glaring colours1 the hero in a supreme  
moment of exaltation1 or the heroine in 
the depths of despair4 ,mr4 ,beardsley  
did not condescend to illustrate1 but   
produced a design1 irrelevant and       
tantalizing to the average man1 though  
doubtless full of significance to       
himself4 ,in many respects the ,avenue  

bill must be considered the best poster 
which so far has come from this artist's
 hands4 ,the very graceful figure on a  
small poster for ,the ,yellow ,book     
speaks for itself4 ,it is more vivid1   
more curious1 than either of the two    
done for a ,london publisher4 ,most     
collectors1 however1 will treasure even 
more highly  ,illustration3 #jbdd       
,illustration3 #jbde  ,illustration3    
#jbdf  the charming design done by ,mr4 
,beardsley to advertise the ,pseudonym  
series of short stories4 ,in it we meet 
with the artist in his less mordant     
mood4 ,the sketch of the old bookshop in
 the background is quite delightful1 and
 the whole design is less grotesque than
 most of ,mr4 ,beardsley's productions4 
,the arrangement in purple and white1   
which he did for the same firm1 is a    
very striking performance in his later  
manner4 ,its importance as a poster is1 
however1 seriously discounted by the    
fact that the design has nothing        
whatsoever to do with the text1 which   

has been added in a manner almost       
inconceivably clumsy4  ,the success of  
,mr4 ,beardsley in the production of    
artistic posters has encouraged a host  
of imitators1 so that it is quite within
 the bounds of possibility that he will 
found something in the nature of a      
school4 ,already1 on the other side of  
the ,atlantic1 more than one artist has 
been inspired by him4 ,the posters of   
,mr4 ,bradley1 for example1 with which  
,i shall deal later1 are unquestionably 
adaptations1 at once skilful and        
intelligent1 of ,mr4 ,beardsley's       
decorative manner4 ,again1 to return to 
,england1 the pleasant arrangement in   
red and white1 designed by ,mrs4        
,dearmer to advertise a recital recently
 given by her in ,london1 proves that   
she has been affected by the simplicity 
and directness which are so conspicuous 
among the merits of ,mr4 ,beardsley in  
his essays in the art of the hoarding4  
,of his many parodists only one1 ,i     
think1 has actually attempted the       

poster4 ,the essay in question was made 
by ,mr4 ,j4 ,hearn1 under the signature 
of ,weirdsly ,daubery1 and the result   
was very fantastic and amusing4 ,the    
design was done for some amateur        
theatricals at ,oxford1 and it was      
curious to  ,illustration3 #jbdh        
,illustration3 #jbej  meet this atom of 
the so-called decadence flaunting       
itself1 with strange incongruity1 in    
every nook and corner of the sweet city 
of the dreaming spires4  ,the case of   
,mr4 ,maurice ,grieffenhagen is similar 
to that of ,mr4 ,dudley ,hardy1 insomuch
 as both have been well known for some  
time to the public as painters and as   
the producers of very accomplished work 
in black and white4 ,at present ,mr4    
,grieffenhagen1 as a designer of        
posters1 can only be judged by a single 
production4 ,it may be said at once that
 nothing more distinguished1 nothing    
which is less imitative or derivative1  
has come from ,english hands than ,mr4  
,grieffenhagen's advertisement for the  

,pall ,mall ,budget4 ,admirable alike in
 colour and in pattern1 the poster is   
entirely appropriate to its purpose of  
keeping before the eyes of the public a 
publication which escaped frivolity on  
the one hand and dulness on the other4  
,all who watch the development of the   
artistic poster in ,england with        
interest1 cannot but hope that the ,pall
 ,mall ,budget poster will be the first 
of a series by the same artist equally  
delightful and original4  ,it is        
interesting to note that while we are   
still a long way behind the ,french in  
the matter of the artistic poster1 the  
productions of the three artists with   
whom ,i have just dealt have received a 
cordial welcome at the hands of         
,parisian collectors4 ,in the dealers'  
shops you may see ,mr4 ,hardy's ,gaiety 
,girl side by side with ,lautrec's      
,reine de ,joie1 while ,mr4             
,grieffenhagen's young lady in red looks
 with demure surprise at the antics of  
her more frivolous sisters1 as depicted 

by ,jules ,cheret4 ,there is1 again1 a  
steady demand for anything by ,mr4      
,beardsley1 who1 it would seem1 has     
already become an established favourite 
with ,french connoisseurs4 ,as we shall 
see in another chapter1 the prices put  
in ,paris upon ,english posters compare 
very favourably with those at which the 
works of the ablest ,french designers   
are valued4 ,in matters of art1 few     
cities are more insular and intolerant  
than the ,french metropolis2 and those  
,english artists who are devoting       
themselves to the poster1 should be     
encouraged by enthusiastic recognition  
where enthusiasm was least to be        
expected4     ,,chapter ,,viii4--,,the  
,,work ,,of ,,other ,,contemporary      
,,english ,,designers  ,since this book 
was commenced as the companion1 rather  
than the rival1 of that of ,m4          
,maindron1 ,english designers of the    
poster have multiplied in a degree      
altogether phenomenal4  ,up to the time 
in question1 as we have already seen1   

the ,english artist who attempted the   
poster was exceptional4 ,the famine1    
which was prevalent only a year or two  
ago1 has become the abundance of today1 
so that where one expected a dearth of  
subject matter1 one has in fact an      
excess4 ,it seems to me that1 apart from
 the ,english pioneers1 whom we have    
already considered1 the brothers        
,beggarstaff1 in reality ,messrs4 ,pryde
 and ,simpson1 two young artists1 are   
entitled to the first place among the   
makers of the ,english artistic poster4 
,they have best appreciated the essence 
of their business3 less than almost any 
native designers1 they are innocent of  
any homage of imitation4 ,they have     
imitated neither ,cheret nor ,lautrec3  
it may well be that they have had the   
wisdom to take a hint here and there    
from both of these masters of the art of
 the affiche4 ,as yet the hoardings of  
,london are screaming with the vulgar   
designs of the advertiser's hack4 ,the  
admirable art of the ,beggarstaffs is1  

up to now1 infrequently met with4 ,their
 curious advertisement for ,sir ,henry  
,irving's production of ,becket1 was    
eclipsed by that done for the same      
manager's ,don ,quixote1 while the      
latter has to give place to one intended
 to announce a special issue of         
,harper's ,magazine4 ,all of these force
 themselves on the collector's          
attention4 ,they are at once striking   
and artistic2 they cry their wares well1
 and they are a delight to the eyes4    
,the lettering in the ,harper poster is 
beyond all praise4 ,of its kind1 it is  
the most beautiful ,english lettering of
 which ,i know4 ,at the ,aquarium       
,exhibition the ,beggarstaff's showed   
four posters which advertised ,nobody's 
,blue1 ,nobody's ,candles1 ,nobody's    
,niggers1 and ,nobody's ,pianos4 ,if    
each ,nobody is not rapidly converted   
into ,somebody1 the various             
manufacturers and proprietors of the    
articles mentioned above must be very   
stupid people4 ,all were excellent2 that

 which advertised ,nobody's ,pianos was 
a most curious and a most original      
performance4 ,it seems to me that the   
,beggarstaffs have few serious rivals in
 ,england1 and not very many in ,france4
 ,their works should help very          
,illustration3 #jbef  considerably in   
the task of revolutionizing the ,english
 pictorial poster4 ,the  ,illustration3 
#jbeh  impression created by their      
designs on ,frenchmen1 who are past     
masters in the art of the hoarding1 is  
most favourable4  ,illustration3 #hbeh  
,it will be remembered that when ,mr4   
,sickert took it into his head to depict
 the ,sisters ,lloyd in their music-hall
 habit1 the critics fell out greatly4   
,even the young ladies in question had1 
it is said1 scant affection for a design
 in which everything was suggested and  
nothing declared4  ,they had1 it is     
true1 the recompense of advertisement1  
and that1 to a music-hall singer1 is a  
very sweet recompense4 ,it was          
characteristic of ,mr4 ,sickert that he 

should go to the music-halls for a      
subject4 ,the ,new ,english ,art ,club  
is devoted to things which are          
,illustration3 #jbei  new and strange1  
the artistic poster amongst them4 ,mr4  
,sickert is not the only one of the     
members of this club who have made an   
essay in the latest form of applied art4
 ,mr4 ,beardsley1 ,mr4 ,r4 ,anning      
,bell1 and ,mr4  ,illustration3 #jbfj   
,illustration3 #jbfb  ,illustration3    
#jbfd  ,wilson ,steer are amongst those 
of his colleagues who have done the same
 thing4 ,mr4 ,sickert's poster1 which   
is1 ,i believe1 as yet unpublished1 is  
in four colours4 ,it is calculated to   
make a good advertisement1 and one can  
only hope soon to meet with it on the   
hoardings4 ,as an impressionist painter 
of talent1 ,mr4 ,wilson ,steer is as    
well known as ,mr4 ,sickert4 ,a ,new    
,english ,art ,club ,exhibition without 
his work would be one which lacked a    
most characteristic feature4 ,mr4 ,steer
 gave us an opportunity of appreciating 

his talent as a painter by organizing a 
show of his own work4 ,to advertise this
 he did a poster1 which was excellent of
 its kind1 and is in consequence very   
rare4 ,it is a comparatively small      
lithograph in four colours1 and is quite
 unlike this artist's other work4 ,it   
leans1 it seems to me1 towards          
,pre-,raphaelitism rather than towards  
,impressionism4 ,an artist who has      
certainly sat at the feet of ,mr4       
,whistler is ,mr4 ,mortimer ,menpes4 ,to
 advertise several exhibitions of his   
paintings1 he has invented at least     
three posters1 which certainly do not   
lack the merit of originality4 ,he has  
abstained from the frivolous girl and   
grotesque man4 ,the ,france1 the        
,venice1 and the ,india are in their way
 considerable achievements in dainty    
design and quiet and harmonious colour4 
,mr4 ,menpes1 by being intentionally    
simple1 has arrived at notable          
conspicuity4 ,all this artist's designs 
are of small size1 and are appropriate  

rather to the notice board than to the  
hoarding4 ,nothing more opposite to the 
fastidious productions of ,mr4 ,menpes  
could be conceived than the vigorous    
poster by ,mr4 ,lockhart ,bogle         
advertising a ,scottish ,athletic       
,gathering1 held in #ahib4 ,this is a   
large lithograph1 consisting of a single
 figure of a ,highlander1 which1 if not 
remarkably beautiful1 is drawn with     
vigour and with no small accuracy4 ,mr4 
,brangwyn is one of those ,english      
painters of whom we are entitled to be  
proud4 ,his directness1 the audacity of 
his impressionism1 the splendour 7if    
sometimes ill-considered7 of his colour 
schemes1 cannot be passed over even by  
those who have slight sympathy with his 
method4 ,that1 if so inclined1 he would 
produce a poster at once startling and  
artistic is not to be denied4 ,the one  
which he has already designed to        
advertise an exhibition of ,south       
,african pictures by himself and ,mr4   
,william ,hunt1 held at the ,japanese   

,gallery1 is certainly by no means      
worthy his remarkable talent1 and one   
trusts that he will cease for a moment  
from painting pictures and produce a    
poster which shall be memorable in the  
history of the affiche in ,england4     
,mr4 ,frank ,richards is nothing if not 
versatile2 his exhibition1 held recently
 at the ,dowdeswells' ,galleries1 came  
as a surprise to all who were           
unacquainted with his  ,illustration3   
#jbfh  ,illustration3 #jbfi             
,illustration3 #jbgj  clever painting4  
,in this exhibition his pictures ranged 
from a large study of ,mr4 ,clive as    
,hamlet to slight but beautiful studies 
of ,venice under various atmospheric    
conditions4 ,in his poster work1 of     
which at present little has been seen1  
,mr4 ,richards shows that1 to some      
extent1 he is under the influence of    
,mr4 ,dudley ,hardy4 ,mr4 ,richards1 no 
less than ,mr4 ,hardy1 is undeniably up 
to date1 and his work is really         
effective4 ,among the most recent       

additions to the ranks of our popular   
illustrators is ,mr4 ,lewis ,baumer4    
,one meets with his work everywhere2 in 
,to-,day and in the shortlived ,unicorn4
 ,his bills to advertise the ,academy   
students' annual burlesque are pretty1  
if they are nothing else4 ,mr4 ,baumer  
has certainly still to make his mark as 
a poster designer4 ,the ,artistic       
,supply ,company1 who are paying special
 attention to the pictorial poster1 have
 already produced a dainty little       
affiche by him4 ,it may be noted here   
that the company in question have       
arranged with some of the most eminent  
,english designers for the reproduction 
of artistic posters1 and that several1  
which illustrate these pages1 do so only
 on account of their permission most    
generously given4  ,among other services
 which the comic journal ,pick-,me-,up  
has rendered to the artistic public is  
the extremely important one of          
emphasizing1 and giving a congenial     
outlet to1 the remarkable talent of ,mr4

  ,illustration3 #jbgb  ,illustration3  
#jbgd  ,raven-,hill4 ,from almost the   
first1 his connexion with the journal in
 question has been a very intimate one4 
,hardly a number is without a specimen  
of his powerful drawing and his gift of 
comic invention4 ,while suggesting1 in  
the best sense1 the style of the        
incomparable ,charles ,keene1 ,mr4      
,raven-,hill's work in black and white  
is the outcome of his own personality4  
,it would have been strange if this very
 modern artist had not produced         
pictorial posters3 his talent was       
perfectly adapted to his doing so with  
success4 ,his small bills for           
,pick-,me-,up are vigorous in drawing1  
bold in colour1 and of a pleasant       
fantasy4 ,they only measure twenty by   
thirty inches1 but they are very        
telling4 ,a complete set of them is a   
most desirable addition to the          
collector's portfolio4 ,another         
accomplished member of the staff of     
,pick-,me-,up1 ,mr4 ,edgar ,wilson1 has 

designed a bill for the recently defunct
 journal1 ,the ,unicorn4 ,it is         
effective1 but to me personally1 the    
colour scheme is even more crude than   
the exigencies of a poster demand4 ,mr4 
,reginald ,cleaver1 whose sketches of   
scenes in the ,house of ,commons created
 so favourable an impression in ,the    
,daily ,graphic1 has not yet1 ,i        
believe1 deliberately produced a        
pictorial poster2 but one of his        
drawings1 reproduced on a large scale1  
lends itself well enough to the purposes
 of mural advertisement4 ,mr4 ,sydney   
,adamson1 the art editor of  ,to-day and
 ,the ,idler1 has done a bill which1    
when it is seen1 will be ,jield1 ,i have
 small doubt1 a very striking           
performance4 ,it is happily conceived   
and boldly executed1 and should make a  
striking patch of colour on the         
hoardings4  ,merely to chronicle the    
names of the innumerable ,wilsons who   
are producing pictures would take quite 
a considerable space4 ,it may be noted  

in passing that1 like ,edgar of that    
name1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,wilson has also         
attempted an affiche4  ,among others who
 have designed posters which have yet to
 be seen an the hoardings are ,mr4 ,max 
,cowper1 ,mr4 ,a4 ,r4 ,miller1 ,mr4     
,kerr ,lawson1 ,mr4 ,f4 ,h4 ,townsend1  
whose black and white work one meets    
everywhere1 ,mr4 ,roche1 a prominent    
member of the ,glasgow ,school1 and one 
of the greatest living ,english artists1
 ,mr4 ,phil ,may4  ,mr4 ,phil ,may is   
not the only ,punch man who has been    
seized with the prevailing mania for the
 production of posters4 ,his colleague1 
,mr4 ,bernard ,partridge1 has already   
designed one which is reproduced in     
these pages4 ,one associates ,mr4       
,partridge with dainty and idyllic work 
rather than with work which is vigorous1
 but his first essay in the poster seems
 to me to be very promising4 ,mr4 ,j4   
,t4 ,manuel's work is as unlike that of 
,mr4 ,bernard ,partridge as possible4   
,his pictures might be by a clever      

member of the young ,french ,school who 
,illustration3 #jbgh  ,illustration3    
#jbhj  ,illustration3 #jbhb             
,illustration3 #jbhd  ,illustration3    
#jbhf  ,illustration3 #jbhh             
,illustration3 #jbij  ,illustration3    
#jbib  ,illustration3 #jbid             
,illustration3 #jbif  ,illustration3    
#jbih  have taken more than a hint from 
,forain4 ,the designs for posters which 
,mr4 ,manuel exhibited at the           
,westminster ,aquarium1 if not so       
distinctive of his talent as his        
contributions in black and white to     
,pick-,me-,up1 were not without definite
 merit4 ,of the three1 that catalogued  
as ,a ,music-hall ,singer struck me as  
the best4 ,it should be purchased by    
,miss ,minnie ,cunningham1 for the      
likeness between her1 and the young lady
 it represents1 if accidental1 is       
marvellous4 ,among young decorative     
painters of the day who are not mere    
imitators of such masters as ,sir       
,edward ,burne-,jones or ,puvis de      

,chavannes1 but have invented a style   
for themselves1 must be included ,mr4   
,charles ,ffoulkes4 ,the two examples of
 his poster-work here reproduced are as 
beautiful in colour as they are refined 
in pattern4 ,moreover1 they proclaim    
themselves in loud tones4 ,their tones1 
however1 are those of a silver trumpet  
rather than those of cymbal or of gong4 
,at times ,mr4 ,ffoulkes forsakes his   
lofty imaginings and depicts chic young 
ladies quite in the best ,french manner4
 ,mr4 ,l4 ,solon's poster1 reproduced   
here1 is a very characteristic example  
of his decorative style4 ,in inventing  
it1 the artist has clearly kept before  
him the fact that a poster cannot live  
by beauty alone2 if1 happily1 there be  
beauty1 there must of necessity be      
advertisement1 else is failure          
inevitable4  ,illustration3 #jcjj  ,very
 unlike ,mr4 ,solon's poster are the    
affiches of ,mr4 ,heywood ,sumner2 those
 which ,i reproduce here seem to me to  
be very characteristic of his graceful  

gift of design4 ,mr4 ,morrow is already 
an established favourite on the         
hoardings of ,london1 and justly so in  
that his performances are of exceptional
 merit4 ,his ,illustrated ,bits         
,illustration3 #jcjb  is a radiant      
affair1 and his ,new ,woman makes quite 
a pretty picture4 ,his works should     
certainly be collected4  ,of ,mr4 ,r4   
,anning ,bell it is not too much to say 
that for versatility only ,mr4 ,walter  
,crane among ,english artists can be    
said to rival him1 and1 what is far more
 important1 his success in a medley of  
mediums is not to be gainsaid4 ,his     
poster for the ,liverpool ,school of    
,art1 over which he presides1 is a      
magnificent piece of decoration1 and    
nothing so fine1 in its way1 has ever   
been1 seen on ,english hoardings4 ,it   
takes one up to the ,elgin marbles2 it  
is an oasis of the classical in a desert
 of the new4 ,i can only mention the    
following native artists1 not previously
 considered1 who have produced pictorial

 posters of interest3 ,mr4 ,f4 ,barnard 
7,everybody should read in the ,european
 ,school71 ,mr4 ,f4 ,simpson 7,land of  
the ,midnight ,sun1 ,to ,norway         
,fjords71 ,mr4 ,robert ,fowler1 ,r4,i41 
whose poster for the ,walker ,art       
,gallery is here illustrated1 ,mr4      
,sidney ,haward 7p4 #bgi71 ,mr4         
,skipworth 7,an ,artist's ,model71 ,mr4 
,skinner 7,pall ,mall ,magazine71 ,mr4  
,starr ,wood and ,mr4 ,a4 ,g4 ,draper4  
,i have already remarked that the poster
 movement in this country amounts to a  
positive revolution4 ,no young artist is
 satisfied unless he has a hand in the  
decoration of the hoardings2 the gold   
frame is for the time forgotten1 and all
 have their eyes on the lithographer's  
stone4 ,france has undoubtedly had a    
long start of us1 but if she is to      
retain her supremacy she must look to   
her laurels4 ,our young men are beating 
at her doors1 though beating only in a  
spirit of friendly rivalry4 ,happily1   
between ,england and ,france there is1  

at this moment1 only one war-the war of 
the pictorial poster4  ,illustration3   
#jcjd  ,illustration3 #jcjf             
,,chapter ,,ix4--,,in ,,america  ,in the
 sweet uses of advertisement the        
,american is surely an expert1 and it   
would have been curious indeed1 if he   
had overlooked so obvious and so        
effective a method of advertising as the
 pictorial poster4 ,finding1 in the     
notorious phrase of ,mr4 ,whistler1 that
 ,art was on the town1 the ,american    
advertiser was one of the most eager of 
those passing gallants who chucked her  
under the chin4 ,who it was originated  
the artistic poster movement in the     
,states1 it were hard to say with       
certainty3 it may have been ,mr4 ,matt4 
,morgan4 ,among recent ,american poster 
producers1 three1 however1 are most     
conspicuous1 ,mr4 ,edward ,penfield1    
,mr4 ,louis ,j4 ,rhead1 and ,mr4 ,will4 
,h4 ,bradley4 ,it is probable that the  
first-named was the innovator3 at least1
 one would be tempted to judge so from  

the quantity of his designs4  ,mr4      
,penfield is still young1 having been   
born at ,brooklyn in the year #ahff1 so 
that if he was the first ,american      
artist to deal with the poster1 the     
movement in that continent is obviously 
a recent one4 ,most of his posters are  
on a small scale1 and partake of the    
nature of window-bills rather than of   
placards especially destined to the     
hoarding4 ,at the same time1 ,mr4       
,penfield has been by no means slow to  
appreciate that it is the first         
,illustration3 #jcji  business of an    
advertisement to advertise1 and his     
appreciation of this fad1 coupled with a
 very dainty fancy and no small         
technical skill1 has led to results     
which are of unquestionable importance4 
,with his earliest efforts ,i cannot    
pretend to be well acquainted4 ,in #ahic
 he produced for a firm at ,salem a     
large bill which measures eighty-one by 
forty-two inches4 ,the subject is a girl
 in a black dress and yellow jacket who 

is laden with packages4 ,for the        
publications of the firm of ,harpers1   
,mr4 ,penfield has done quite a quantity
 of excellent and artistic              
advertisements4 ,amongst the most       
effective is one produced for a special 
midsummer number of ,harper's ,bazar1   
representing a girl playing a banjo1    
divided by a crimson sun from an        
attentive listener of the opposite sex4 
,again1 for the issue of ,july1 #ahid1  
the artist gives us a girl in white     
lighting red crackers arranged to spell 
the name of the month4 ,for the         
,february number of the following year1 
we are presented1 most appropriately1   
with a gentleman posting a valentine in 
an orange coloured letter-box4 ,in      
,april of the same year1 ,mr4 ,penfield 
gives us ,joan of ,arc in yellow1       
wielding sword and staff4 ,amongst the  
numerous books which ,mr4 ,penfield has 
advertised may be mentioned ,the        
,cloister and the ,hearth1 ,pastime     
,stories1 ,our ,english ,cousins1 and   

,perlycross4 ,this artist's work is     
always ingeniously conceived1 and the   
colour schemes are not seldom pleasantly
 audacious4 ,mr4 ,penfield gives us very
 agreeable versions of the ,american    
girl in general1 and of the summer girl 
in particular4 ,his maidens are adorably
 conscious of their power to charm1 and 
are fully alive to the fact that their  
gowns are of the smartest4  ,to turn    
from ,mr4 ,penfield to ,mr4 ,louis ,j4  
,rhead is to turn to an artist settled  
in the ,united ,states1 but ,english by 
birth and education4 ,mr4 ,rhead was    
born at ,etruria1 that unclassical place
 with the classical name1 and comes of a
 family of artists4 ,he was1 ,i believe1
 a student at ,south  ,illustration3    
#jcab  ,illustration3 #jcad  ,kensington
 for several years1 and only reached    
,america in #ahhc4 ,he has exhibited at 
the  ,illustration3 #jcaf  ,salon and   
the ,academy and other important picture
 shows4  ,mr4 ,rhead seems to have taken
 to the poster with the greatest        

enthusiasm1 and he has undoubtedly      
produced a series of curious and        
striking designs4 ,by far the most      
important of his efforts1 though not the
 largest1 are the designs which he has  
done for the ,new ,york ,sun4 ,in one of
 these very daring productions1 a       
crimson sun glows in a golden sky4 ,the 
ground is green1 the footpath and the   
trees are blue1 while the girl's costume
 is garnet and red4 ,it must be         
confessed that this colour scheme sounds
 somewhat formidable1 but ,mr4 ,rhead   
has invented an arrangement at once     
artistic and compelling4 ,the lettering1
 it must be noted with regret1 is not   
from his own hand4 ,one of the largest  
of ,mr4 ,rhead's posters is the         
,pearline1 in which a girl in a green   
and red dress is represented in the act 
of pinning a sheet on to a line4 ,this  
design measures forty-one by            
twenty-eight inches4 ,of considerable   
size1 and of no small merit1 is the     
poster executed for the ,century1       

,christmas1 #ahid1 the chief feature of 
which is a girl with a peacock4 ,among  
other effective designs which stand to  
the credit of ,mr4 ,rhead may be        
mentioned those advertising ,harper's   
,bazar1 ,christmas1 #ahij1              
,thanksgiving1 #ahid1 and ,christmas of 
the same year4 ,for the ,century1       
besides that already noticed1 he has    
done several interesting posters1 and he
 helped to advertise various numbers of 
,st4 ,nicholas last year4 ,it is to be  
noted that  ,illustration3 #jcah  ,mr4  
,louis ,rhead has held an exhibition of 
his posters1 the catalogue of which1 by 
reason of its very characteristic and   
personal decorations1 is highly esteemed
 by collectors of those unconsidered    
trifles which end in becoming especially
 dear to the connoisseur4  ,among the   
magazines of the world1 the ,chap ,book1
 which emanates from ,chicago1 is by no 
means the least interesting4            
,fascinating as is the title1 the       
contents of this little periodical are  

still more so2 its editors seem to have 
eschewed banality1 and to have gone in  
for novelty1 even when the new did not  
possess an extraordinary degree of      
merit4 ,it were meet that so original a 
publication should have an advertiser of
 corresponding eccentricity4 ,in ,mr4   
,will4 ,h4 ,bradley1 the proprietors of 
the ,chap ,book undoubtedly possess such
 an one4 ,born at ,springfield1         
,massachusetts1 ,mr4 ,bradley lives in  
,chicago1 and to that town and its      
publications he has mainly devoted his  
energies as an artist advertiser4 ,it   
will hardly be disputed that he has seen
 and assimilated1 in no small degree1   
the manner of ,mr4 ,aubrey ,beardsley4  
,he is1 however1 a great deal more than 
a mere imitator2 what he has borrowed1  
he has borrowed with conspicuous        
intelligence1 and nobody could for a    
moment accuse him of anything           
approaching petty larceny4 ,among his   
most important posters is a colossal one
 which1 in the manner of ,mr4           

,beardsley1 proclaims the attractions of
 the drama by ,mr4 ,henry ,arthur       
,jones1 entitled ,the ,masqueraders4 ,in
 #ahid ,mr4 ,bradley advertised the     
,chap ,book by means of two dancers in  
red and brown costumes2 the following   
year he insisted on the same publication
 by means of a girl in white and a man  
in black2 and yet again1 through the    
medium of a young lady in blue1 mixed up
 with trees in intense purple1 outlined 
with red and white2 and several other   
equally effective compositions4  ,mr4   
,bradley is1 however1 not the only      
artist intimately connected with        
,chicago who has distinguished himself  
in the production of posters4 ,a native 
of that city1 ,mr4 ,will4 ,carqueville1 
has done very interesting work for the  
firm of ,lippincott's4 ,in the year     
#ahid1 at least one design by him was   
commissioned1 and in the succeeding year
 he produced four or more4 ,that he is  
not afraid of colour is proved by the   
fact that in the poster done for        

,lippincott's1 ,march1 #ahie1 he        
combines dark purple1 yellow1 blue1 and 
bronze4 ,in another design we meet with 
red1 purple1 yellow1 and blue4 ,mr4     
,kenyon ,cox is an ,american artist     
whose fame is by no means confined to   
the ,united ,states4 ,a pupil of ,gerome
 and ,carolus ,duran1 he has1 so far as 
,i know1 made only one essay in the art 
of the poster4 ,this measures eighty-one
 by forty inches1 and is in black and   
white4 ,it represents a male figure     
carrying a torch1 and is an             
advertisement for ,scribner's ,magazine4
 ,mr4 ,scotson ,clark was a schoolfellow
 of ,mr4 ,aubrey ,beardsley4 ,he has1   
among other posters1 done two to which  
the picturesque labels of ,our ,lady of 
the ,peacock ,feather1 and ,lady of the 
,iris1 are attached4 ,in addition1 for  
the ,march issue of the ,bookman1 #ahie1
 ,mr4 ,scotson ,clark drew a monk1 with 
book in hand4 ,mr4 ,george ,wharton     
,edwards1 the well-known painter in     
water-colours1 must be credited with    

three designs for the ,century1 in the  
months of ,february1 ,march1 and ,april1
 #ahie4 ,moreover1 by means of a drawing
 of a girl and a peacock1 he proclaimed 
the twenty-eighth annual exhibition of  
the ,american ,water-,colour ,society1  
in addition to designing a bill for a   
book entitled ,the ,man ,who ,married   
the ,moon4 ,the advertising enterprise  
of the firm of ,scribner has made       
poster-collectors the richer by one or  
two productions by ,mr4 ,charles ,gibson
 ,dana4 ,he it was who announced1 with  
no inconsiderable skill1 the issues of  
,scribner's ,magazine for the months of 
,january and ,february1 #ahie4 ,mr4     
,archie ,gunn is the son of a well-known
 drawing master in one of the large     
towns of the ,midlands4 ,leaving        
,england for ,america1 he found an      
outlet for his talent as a draughtsman  
on the ,new ,york journal ,truth4 ,his  
work is nearly always vivacious1 even   
where it is not particularly original4  
,his posters were done for the          

,illustrated ,american1 and are by no   
means bad examples of his craftsmanship4
 ,like most prominent ,american artists1
 ,mr4 ,thomas ,burford ,meteyard studied
 in ,paris4 ,his poster to advertise a  
book called  ,illustration3 #jcbd       
,illustration3 #jcbf  ,illustration3    
#jcbh  ,illustration3 #jccb             
,illustration3 #jccd  ,illustration3    
#jccf  ,illustration3 #jcch  ,songs from
 ,vagabondia is in black and white1 and 
consists of portraits of the artist     
himself and the authors of the book1    
,mr4 ,bliss ,carman and ,mr4 ,richard   
,hovey4 ,a limited number of copies were
 printed sur ,japon1 and these1 ,i      
believe1 are rare4 ,as in the case of so
 many other ,american artists1 ,mr4     
,francis ,day's poster work was done for
 the most part for the great illustrated
 magazines which do such credit to the  
,united ,states1 as an art-producing    
nation4 ,mr4 ,day's design for ,st4     
,nicholas1 ,christmas1 #ahid1 seems to  
me altogether agreeable1 while in the   

series designed for ,scribner's         
,magazine1 more than one interesting    
thing will be found4  ,in dealing with  
the poster in ,england1 we have noticed 
the fact that one woman1 ,mrs4 ,dearmer1
 has succeeded in producing a bill at   
once artistic and effective4 ,miss      
,ethel ,reed would seem to be the most  
conspicuous lady-artist who has taken up
 the designing of artistic posters in   
the ,states4 ,her efforts date only from
 last ,february1 when she did an        
advertisement for the ,boston ,sunday   
,herald4 ,since then she has produced   
several designs which are held in       
considerable esteem by ,american        
collectors4 ,amongst other artists who  
have taken part in the poster movement  
on the other side of the ,atlantic are  
the following3 ,messrs4 ,alder 7,new    
,york ,world1 ,march #agth1 #ahie71     
,allen1 ,palmer ,cox 7,new ,brownie     
,book71 ,c4 ,miles ,gardner 7,boston    
,sunday ,herald1 ,february #ajth1 #ahie1
 and ,march #ajth1 #ahie71 ,oliver      

,herford1 ,charles ,m4 ,howard 7,boston 
,sunday ,herald1 ,april #bast1 #ahie71  
,frank ,king 7,new ,york ,world1 ,april 
#gth1 #ahie71 ,h4 ,mc,carter 7the ,green
 ,tree ,library71 ,moores 7,st4         
,nicholas1 ,november1 #ahid71 ,julius   
,a4 ,schweinfurth 7,boston ,festival    
,orchestra1 #ahie71 ,w4 ,granville      
,smith 7,scribner's ,magazine1          
,christmas1 #ahid71 ,w4 ,l4 ,taylor1    
,abby ,e4 ,underwood1 ,r4 ,wills        
,irving1 ,c4 ,h4 ,woodbury1 ,charles    
,hubbard ,wright1 and ,william ,m4      
,paxton4 ,the last named has been       
chiefly associated with the ,boston     
,sunday ,herald1 and for that journal he
 has produced several posters of        
distinction4  ,my review of the artistic
 poster movement in ,america has been of
 necessity brief1 and cannot1 therefore1
 be free from sins of omission4 ,in     
writing it1 ,i have1 where my own       
knowledge has seemed to me insufficient1
 made use of the descriptive catalogue  
of the collection of ,american posters  

published last ,may by ,mr4 ,charles    
,knowles ,bolton1 of ,brookline1        
,massachusetts4 ,from the useful        
bibliography printed at the end of this 
pamphlet1 it would seem that the        
movement has been watched from the first
 by the ,american press with keen       
interest4 ,so far back as the year      
#ahib1 we find ,mr4 ,brander ,matthews  
discussing the pictorial poster in the  
,century magazine4 ,in the              
,illustration3 #jcdb  ,illustration3    
#jcdd  present year the subject has been
 dealt with by writers in such important
 newspapers as the ,new ,york ,tribune  
and the ,boston ,herald1 to say nothing 
of such journals as ,scribner's         
,magazine1 the ,critic1 the ,art        
,interchange1 and the ,art ,amateur4    
,quite recently the ,english public have
 had opportunities of seeing the best   
work by ,french and native artists4 ,it 
is to be hoped that at the next poster  
exhibition they will be afforded a      
chance of seeing what excellent work    

,american designers are doing in this   
very practical branch of applied art4   
,a poster by ,mr4 ,e4 ,a4 ,abbey1       
illustrated on page #cae1 arrived too   
late for consideration in its proper    
place4 ,it is entirely worthy the great 
reputation of the artist who has so     
kindly permitted us to reproduce it     
here4 ,the figure is in red scale       
armour1 bearing a shield with a red     
cross4  ,illustration3 #jcdf            
,illustration3 #jcdh     ,,chapter      
,x4--,,in ,,countries ,,not ,,already   
,,discussed  ,that the picture poster   
was an incident of the ancient          
civilizations of ,china and ,japan2 goes
 without saying4 ,the scope1 however1 of
 this book does not embrace the ,far    
,east2 the illustrated placard in the   
,orient would1 indeed1 be a subject in  
itself4 ,in the matter of applied art it
 is difficult to conceive anything which
 the ,chinese and the ,japanese have not
 attempted4 ,they seem1 from the        
earliest days1 to have been consumed    

with a passion for decoration2 nothing  
which by any chance admitted of ornament
 was left undecorated4 ,it behoves the  
societies which are formed for the      
purpose of illustrating the artistic    
antiquities of these wonderful countries
 to concern themselves with the dawn and
 history of the pictorial poster in the 
,east4 ,certain it is that the          
illustrated advertisement abounded1 as  
it abounds today1 in the cities of both 
the nations now being discussed4 ,it is1
 indeed1 found in the less advanced     
civilization of ,burma1 and of the      
various principalities which form our   
,indian ,empire4 ,to pass from ,asia to 
,spain is to travel a long way4 ,in     
,spain1 at the present moment1 the      
illustrated placard is receiving no     
small attention at the hands of artists 
who1 however discouraged and ill-paid1  
are determined to do all that in them   
lies to raise the country which produced
 ,murillo to the position she once held 
among art-producing nations4 ,a recent  

writer in the ,sketch grows enthusiastic
 over the ,spanish affiche4 ,spanish    
posters1 he tells us1 are a delight4    
,well drawn1 vividly but truly coloured1
 and perfectly printed1 they shine down 
from walls and hoardings1 attracting all
 passers-by4 ,they depict the glories of
 coming fairs and bull-fights1 and are  
couched in terms calculated to draw     
money from a stone4 ,the announcement   
that a famous matador will kill1 or     
assist to kill1 ,seis ,escogidos ,toros1
 throws the ,spanish reader into a state
 of frenzy4 ,not infrequently some      
incident is depicted with frank realism4
 ,a bull standing over a dead horse     
gives an opportunity to the artist to   
draw the unfortunate horse disembowelled
 and lying on blood-stained sand1 while 
the bull's hide shows the marks of the  
lance-thrusts1 and his horns are        
likewise stained with blood4            
,colour-printing is so good in these    
regions of perpetual sunlight that      
nearly every detail of a matador's      

costume can be given4 ,the poster       
artists are splendid when they depict   
,illustration3 #jceb  ,illustration3    
#jceh  ,illustration3 #jcfj  movement2  
they are satisfactory in their purely   
decorative work1 but figures in repose  
are apt to become 'woodeny4' ,in point  
of colour1 ,spain beats ,france2 and as 
,france is so much in advance of        
,england1 it scarcely needs a ,euclid to
 demonstrate that ,english posters      
cannot be compared to those of ,spain4  
,the latter exhibit at times an         
admirable sense of distance and         
proportion1 which serves to show that   
their designers learnt to draw before   
they began to paint4 ,the four examples 
reproduced here will serve to indicate  
the type of ,spanish poster most        
frequently met with4 ,whether ,spain1 in
 the matter of the pictorial placard1 is
 in advance of ,france or not1 is a     
question of taste4 ,however brilliant   
the colour of the ,spanish affiche1 the 
design seems to me to lack boldness4    

,take1 for example1 the ,gran ,feria de 
,cordoba1 #ahie2 in this case the whole 
thing appears to be a series of         
elaborate details rather than a bold and
 impressive design4 ,the poster in      
,spain1 however1 is rapidly becoming of 
interest1 dealing as it does with       
fascinating and essentially picturesque 
subjects4 ,it is difficult to obtain    
exact information concerning the artists
 who design posters in ,spain2 the      
examples which ,i reproduce here1 ,i    
cannot attribute to anybody with any    
degree of certainty4  ,the ,teutonic    
temperament is in no sense akin to the  
,spanish1 and the pictorial posters of  
,germany are utterly unlike those of    
,spain4 ,for the most part the ,germans 
have1 in the past1 been addicted to     
elaborate and often admirably-executed  
lithographs1 such1 for instance1 as that
 done by ,ernest ,klint for the ,musical
 and ,theatrical ,exhibition held at    
,vienna in #ahib4 ,a new movement is1 it
 appears1 making itself conspicuous just

 now4 ,the younger generation of ,german
 designers seem to be as anxious to     
experiment in the making of posters as  
those of ,france and ,england4 ,joseph  
,sattler1 a designer of considerable    
originality and great dexterity1 who has
 studied ,albrecht ,duerer with great   
advantage to his own work1 has designed 
a very curious little window bill to    
advertise ,pan4 ,it is reproduced here1 
and its strange individuality1 its      
ingenuity1 will not fail to make an     
impression upon those who look at it    
closely4 ,the lettering is devised in an
 extraordinary way1 and ,sattler may be 
congratulated on the results of an      
interesting experiment4 ,very different 
to the work of ,sattler is that of      
,franz ,stuck4 ,this represents a       
classical head in mosaic1 and advertises
 an exhibition of the ,munich           
,secessionists1 a body of experimental  
painters and designers of               
rapidly-growing importance4 ,the        
tendency of the illustrated poster in   

,austria is much the same as it is in   
,germany4 ,some admirable bills have    
been designed in ,italy4 ,of its        
particular kind1 ,i have seen few things
 better than a large and  ,illustration3
 #jcfd  ,illustration3 #jcff            
,illustration3 #jcfh  ,illustration3    
#jcgj  ,illustration3 #jcgb  sombre     
poster to advertise ,verdi's ,otello4   
,at the same time1 the ,italian posters 
are not of a very distinctive type1 nor 
does ,italian taste concerning them     
appear to be very fastidious4 ,the      
crude1 enormous1 and vulgar             
advertisements for ,buffalo ,bill's     
exhibition created quite a sensation in 
,rome when that redoubtable personage   
deigned to visit the most august of     
,european capitals4 ,the modern ,romans 
forgot their ,michael ,angelo in the    
ecstasy induced by the latest enormity  
of the ,american colour printer4 ,it may
 be noted that some of the posters done 
for the ,italian railway companies are  
bright and gay as an ,italian summer    

itself4 ,the pictorial poster would not 
seem to have taken a great hold on      
,russia1 nor1 judging from a            
comparatively recent visit1 has it made 
much headway in ,scandinavia4 ,in       
,holland1 the present artistic vitality 
and enterprise of which are at once so  
astonishing and gratifying1 one meets   
with very few posters of conspicuous    
merit4 ,in ,belgium1 on the other hand1 
there are signs that the poster movement
 has affected not a few artists of      
distinction4 ,the placard by ,evenepoel1
 designed to advertise a publication in 
connexion with the ,antwerp ,exhibition1
 is excellent in colour and pattern and 
most decidedly original1 owing very     
little to any foreign examples4 ,duyck's
 ,cortege des ,fleurs 7,ville de        
,bruxelles7 is decorative and pleasing4 
,this artist has also designed another  
placard to advertise ,spa 7,ferme de    
,frahinfaz74 ,to ,delville we owe a     
curious little placard1 in the          
,symbolist manner1 which advertised     

,pour l'art1 ,ier exposition a          
,bruxelles2 the advertisement for the   
second exhibition was the work of       
,ottevaere4 ,a fantastic and rather     
picturesque poster was done to announce 
one of the annual exhibitions of ,la    
,libre ,esthetique4 ,it represents a    
strange-looking human being standing    
among flowers1 under a lurid sky1 and   
holding in his hands a decorative       
scroll1 upon which the legend is        
inscribed4 ,amongst other interesting   
,belgian placards are the ,velodrome    
,bruxellois by ,g4 ,gaudy1 the ,paul    
,hankar by ,a4 ,crespin1 and a poster in
 monochrome in imitation of a bas-relief
 bearing the legend ,la plus noble force
 sociale est le ,droit4 ,all of these   
are reproduced here4 ,it may be noted in
 conclusion that most of the ,belgian   
posters show strong signs of ,french    
influence4  ,illustration3 #jcgf        
,illustration3 #jcgh  ,illustration3    
#jchj     ,,chapter ,,xi4--,,the ,,price
 ,,of ,,the ,,pictorial ,,poster2 ,,and 

,,concluding ,,note  ,it is obviously   
impossible to state accurately the price
 of the artistic poster1 insomuch as    
fluctuations take place almost daily1   
and1 moreover1 the numerous dealers vary
 in their quotations in an extraordinary
 degree4 ,under these circumstances1 the
 present chapter is written as a matter 
of current record1 rather than with the 
idea that it will be of any permanent   
value for purposes of reference4 ,it may
 be stated at the outset1 that in       
dealing with the value of the poster1   
rarity has in the first place to be     
taken into consideration2 and thus it   
happens that1 while delightfully        
artistic designs are comparatively      
inexpensive1 posters which are quite    
unattractive from the point of view of  
art are often very costly4 ,the prices  
which follow are for the most part taken
 from the catalogues of ,m4 ,edmond     
,sagot of ,paris1 and ,mr4 ,bella of    
,london1 the latter of whom1 by the     
organization of exhibitions and in other

 ways1 has rendered material assistance 
to ,english collectors4 ,in fact1 to    
some extent1 he has called the ,english 
collector into existence4  ,as an       
example of the price of the poster of   
which the interest is archaeological    
rather than artistic1 one may instance a
 placard1 dated the #bjth of ,february1 
#afdi1 which deals with the opening and 
closing of the gates of ,paris4 ,its    
only claim to be considered pictorial   
consists in the fact that it is         
ornamented with a woodcut representing  
the arms of the city4 ,many similar     
productions were executed in relation to
 ,london and to other ,english towns4   
,the price asked for it three or four   
years ago was thirty francs4            
,interesting from another point of view 
are the illustrated posters which have  
heralded new books1 or new editions of  
books1 by great writers4 ,three of      
these1 relating to the works of ,balzac1
 and including one with woodcuts by     
,meissonier and ,tony johannot1 are     

valued at twelve francs4  ,it is time1  
however1 to pass from pictorial posters1
 which are interesting on account of age
 or literary association1 to those which
 derive their value from their qualities
 as works of art4 ,in this class some of
 the highest prices are obtained by the 
,french artists who1 for the most part1 
were the contemporaries1 or immediate   
successors1 of ,gavarni4 ,the best      
posters of this master are extremely    
difficult to procure1 and examples in a 
fine state realize large sums4  ,for the
 ,oeuvres ,choisis bill1 together with  
that designed to advertise an           
illustrated edition of ,balzac's        
,philosophie de la ,vie ,conjugale1     
something over a hundred francs is      
asked1 while less important works can be
 obtained for five-and-twenty or thirty 
francs4 ,it goes without saying that the
 smallest tear or other injury1 however 
neatly and skilfully repaired1 heavily  
discounts the value of works by ,gavarni
 and the men of his time2 but even      

slightly damaged examples are eagerly   
sought for1 as it is almost impossible  
to obtain perfect ones4 ,of the         
productions of ,edouard de ,beaumont1   
two of the rarest are the ,nains        
,celebres1 already mentioned1 and the   
,diable ,amoureux4 ,for an exceptionally
 fine proof of the former1 as much as a 
hundred francs has been asked1 while the
 latter1 which is very rare1 commands   
about sixty francs4 ,sums scarcely less 
formidable are given for the better     
posters of ,grandville1 and fifty francs
 for a good ,tony ,johannot is not by   
any means an exceptional price1 although
 unimportant specimens of his work may  
be picked up in ,paris for a few sous4  
,the excursions of ,gustave ,dore into  
the art of the poster were very few4    
,his most important work was perhaps the
 ,legende du ,juif ,errant1 a fine proof
 of which realizes sixty francs or more4
 ,posters by ,vivant ,beauce1 ,castelli1
 ,cham1 ,victor ,coindre1 ,charles      
,devrits1 ,h4 ,emy1 ,a4 ,farcy1 and     

others of the same period1 for the most 
part command sums comparatively small2  
the best productions of ,bertall1       
,calame1 ,monnier1 and ,c4 ,nanteuil1 on
 the other hand1 are only a little less 
expensive than those of ,gavarni and the
 more distinguished designers of his    
time4  ,of posters by designers still   
living1 those of ,cheret have been most 
assiduously collected4 ,it is probable  
that a complete set of his works does   
not exist2 even one which is fairly     
representative1 and includes some of his
 earlier and rarer affiches1 is         
extremely valuable4 ,in the ,sagot      
catalogue of #ahia1 over five hundred   
and fifty posters by ,cheret are        
described1 and of these no less than    
eighty are priced at twenty francs or   
more4 ,since the publication of the     
catalogue1 their value has steadily     
increased1 and it is uncertain if many  
of them can now be procured at all4 ,the
 collector of modest means need not1    
however1 regret that the older and rarer

 examples of ,cheret are beyond his     
reach1 for the artist's more recent     
posters are the best that he has        
accomplished4 ,for a comparatively small
 outlay1 one may secure the flower of   
,cheret's work4 ,amongst the most       
valuable of his posters are two1 of very
 large size1 designed to advertise some 
,arabs who appeared with the ,paris     
,hippodrome when it visited ,london in  
#ahhg4 ,the price asked for them is over
 two pounds4 ,they seem to have escaped 
the attention of ,french collectors from
 the fact that they were posted         
exclusively in ,london4 ,the set of four
  ,illustration3 #jchf  ,loie ,fuller   
bills1 in all of which the design is the
 same but the colouring different1 is   
worth between thirty and forty          
shillings4 ,these designs are among the 
most daring and characteristic specimens
 of ,cheret's amazing colour1 and as    
they only measure forty-nine by         
thirty-three inches1 they are of        
manageable size1 and should find their  

way into the portfolio of every         
collector4 ,the set of unlettered       
decorative panels which were described  
in an earlier part of the book1 is at   
present sold by all dealers for five    
pounds4 ,it goes without saying that    
proofs before letters1 or prints on     
special paper1 of the posters of        
,cheret1 or of nearly any other artist1 
are much more valuable than ordinary    
copies4  ,most of1 the posters of other 
living ,french artists may still be     
procured for a few shillings1 but it is 
extremely improbable that such a state  
of things will long continue to be the  
case4 ,already examples by men of the   
modern school1 such as                  
,toulouse-,lautrec1 ,anquetin1 ,bonnard1
 ,steinlen1 and ,ibels1 are in great    
demand1 and collectors should use the   
present opportunity to procure a series 
of these curiously interesting designs  
before the prices rise4 ,even now1      
,lautrec's first attempt1 ,le ,pendu1   
has become rarissime1 and is valued at  

something over a sovereign4 ,what has   
happened in this case will doubtless    
happen in the case of ,la ,reine de     
,joie1  ,jane ,avril1 and ,lautrec's    
other posters4 ,the designs of ,grasset 
are rapidly taking their place by the   
side of those of ,cheret in the         
estimation of collectors1 with the      
result that several of them command     
large prices4 ,thus the ,librairie      
,romantique1 which was offered in #ahia 
for three francs1 was priced by the same
 dealer in ,november1 #ahid1 at twenty4 
,what is going on in the case of        
,cheret1 ,grasset1 and ,lautrec1 is     
going on1 though it may be somewhat less
 rapidly1 in the case of those other    
artists who have assisted to make the   
,french affiche the charming and        
artistic thing it is4  ,the posters of  
those artists who were the pioneers of  
the artistic poster movement in ,england
 are extremely rare4 ,they worked in the
 days before the ,english collector     
existed1 and any copies of their designs

 not actually posted1 probably fell into
 the hands of the waste-paper dealer4 ,i
 have been unable to trace any copies of
 the advertisement done by ,fred ,walker
 for ,the ,woman in ,white1 but the     
original design has been recently       
exhibited in ,london1 and the price put 
upon it by its owners is seventy        
guineas4 ,copies of ,mr4 ,walter        
,crane's ,hippodrome bill are extremely 
rare1 as are those designed by          
,professor ,herkomer for the ,magazine  
of ,art1 ,black and ,white1 and the     
exhibition of his own works4 ,turning to
 the younger men1 it is interesting to  
note that ,mr4 ,dudley ,hardy's ,yellow 
,girl sells in ,paris for twenty francs1
 the large ,gaiety ,girl for half as    
much1 and the smaller bills for the same
 play for five francs4 ,the first poster
 which this artist did for ,st4 ,paul's 
is very difficult to meet with2 it will 
doubtless be among the most valuable of 
,mr4 ,hardy's designs4 ,mr4 ,beardsley's
 ,avenue poster is quoted neither by    

,mr4 ,bella nor ,m4 ,sagot1 and it may  
therefore be concluded that it is almost
 impossible to obtain it4 ,the other    
posters of this designer are steadily   
increasing in value1 and are eagerly    
sought for by collectors on both sides  
of the ,channel4 ,mr4 ,greiffenhagen's  
,pall ,mall poster1 which has met with  
much success abroad1 is worth about half
 a sovereign4 ,the dainty little bill   
which ,mr4 ,wilson ,steer did for the   
exhibition of his paintings at the      
,goupil ,gallery fetches about the same 
amount1 and is rapidly becoming scarce4 
,it is pleasant to think that the early 
efforts of ,english artists are welcomed
 by ,french collectors as               
enthusiastically as the masterpieces of 
,french artists by collectors in        
,england4  ,the poster is obviously     
difficult to collect1 because of its    
size4 ,not all of us are proprietors of 
such an immensity as the ,chicago       
,exhibition4 ,most of us1 on the other  
hand1 could paper a room with posters of

 ,lautrec alone4 ,everybody1 however1   
can put the smaller bills into a        
portfolio1 while the larger ones may be 
mounted as ordinary school maps4 ,the   
collecting of pictorial posters needs   
nothing more than a little heroism4  ,in
 the foregoing chapters1 ,i have        
attempted to outline the history of art 
as applied to the poster1 and to give an
 account of the pictorial placard in the
 present state of its development4 ,the 
number of names1 eminent in the history 
of various modern arts and crafts1 who  
have applied themselves to the          
production of the pictorial poster seems
 to me to justify the publication of    
this book4 ,the fact that men so highly 
endowed as ,cheret and ,lautrec         
deliberately choose to appeal to the    
public chiefly by means of the affiche1 
well knowing that their gallery is the  
common hoarding1 places the illustrated 
poster outside the bounds of ridicule4  
,a modern art critic of high repute and 
of enormous energy has assured us that1 

in these days1 to neglect the poster is 
mere folly on the part of those who care
 for the application of taste and skill 
to the objects of everyday life4 ,we are
 apt to talk of artistic periods2       
periods when the most ordinary objects  
had an aesthetic character of their own4
 ,it seems to me to be full of promise  
for the future that the hoarding should 
be among the first necessities of modern
 civilization to be rendered charming by
 the skill and imagination of the       
artist4 ,art is generally supposed to be
 inimical to commerce1 and commerce     
inimical to art1 yet here we have the   
two combining to the advantage of both1 
and succeeding in making the beautiful  
an incident of the necessary4           
,illustration3 #jcia