Book Cover
Embossed Seal on Each Piece
Representational Plates:
Lautrec - Divan Japonais
Mucha - Salon des Cent
Bradley - Victor Bicycles
Steinlen - Lait pur Sterilise
Lefevre - Cacao Lacte
Mataloni - Incandescenza A Gas
Fey - Amieux Freres
Marquet - La Meilleure de Toutes
Cheret - Les Coulisses de l'Opera
Dumas - Incandescence par le Gaz
Les Maîtres de l’Affiche (The Masters of the Poster). 2 vols. Paris: Imprimerie Chaix, 1896
Les Maîtres series was the outgrowth of the international poster craze of the 1890s, when the new advertising medium transformed the boulevards of Paris and other major cities into the "art gallery of the street." Posters by Cheret, Livemont, Lautrec, Mucha and others became widely collected, and Cheret realized that many collectors would enjoy a portfolio of the best posters from around the world that could be admired in a smaller, more practical format. The series was an enormous success, and continues to be highly popular today. Ninety-seven artists' work is represented in the series; Maîtres by the best artists are often as rare as the original large format images.
Blue cloth blocked in green, black, and beige on front, spine, and back, with beveled boards, it is one of the most famous publications of art of the Art Nouveau period. The Masters of the Poster series consists of 256 small format lithographic plates of the best posters of the Belle Epoque. These collectible miniatures were painstakingly produced four per month from 1895 to 1900 by no other than the "Father of the Poster, Jules Cheret, in conjunction with his printer Chaix.
Each print is embossed with the emblem of the printer Chaix, and is marked with its number in the series.