Morisa Rosenberg
Head of Department
Lot 31
Various ArtistsLes Maîtres de l'Affiche, Volumes I-V
31 March – 9 April 2025, 12:00 PDT
Online, Los AngelesSold for US$25,600 inc. premium
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Victoria Zaks
Specialist, Head of Sale
Catherine Lay
Cataloguer
Various Artists
Les Maîtres de l'Affiche, Volumes I-V (Art Nouveau p. 32, Arwas 79), 1895-1900
The complete set of five volumes, comprising 256 (of which 16 are supplementary plates) lithographs in colors on wove paper, each with the Les Maîtres de l'Affiche blindstamp, each full margins, each volume with title, colophon page and preface by Roger Marx, bound (as issued) in original green, gold and cream cloth binding with embossing, each with the original tissue interleaves.
each volume 15 5/8 x 12 3/8 x 1 1/8in (39.7 x 31.4 x 2.9cm)
The complete set of five volumes, comprising 256 (of which 16 are supplementary plates) lithographs in colors on wove paper, each with the Les Maîtres de l'Affiche blindstamp, each full margins, each volume with title, colophon page and preface by Roger Marx, bound (as issued) in original green, gold and cream cloth binding with embossing, each with the original tissue interleaves.
each volume 15 5/8 x 12 3/8 x 1 1/8in (39.7 x 31.4 x 2.9cm)
Footnotes
Provenance
Sarah Stocking, San Francisco;
Acquired directly from the above.
Les Maîtres de l'Affiche (The Masters of the Poster) were small format recreations of what were, ostensibly, the best and most famous posters from around Europe and America as selected by the renowned critic, Roger Marx. The famed, Paris-based publishing house owned by Jules Cheret called Imprimerie Chaix, produced the volumes to meet the growing craze of poster collecting at the end of the 19th century. Each of the plates is a full-color lithograph printed on high-quality paper. The prestigious series was published from 1896 to 1900, during which time subscribers would receive four new plates each month. In totality, there are 256 plates in the series, 240 of which depict posters and the other 16 are supplements, designed specifically for subscribers. The appeal of Les Maîtres de l'Affiche was, and remains their small, easy-to-collect format. The sheets are bound in beautiful bindings designed by Paul Berthon - one of the many celebrated artists in this set. It is one of his most elegant designs and a highly desirable set. As these volumes are frequently broken up so the individual plates can be sold, it has become rarer and rarer to find complete sets like the present lot.
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