Libraire Ed. Sagot
Artist
Jules Chéret
France, 1863 - 1932
Date1891
MediumStone Lithograph
Dimensions88 x 34 in. (223.5 x 86.4 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.4167
DescriptionJules Chéret is known as the “Father of the Poster” because he perfected the large-format color printing process that allowed posters to be made cheaply and quickly. He designed more than 1,000 posters in his lifetime. This series of progressive proofs shows how the stone lithographic process works. The image is drawn onto a stone or metal plate using a greasy medium, followed by a solution of gum arabic and nitric acid to fix both the printing and non-printing areas. A roller loaded with oil-based ink is then rolled over this wet printing surface, with the ink only sticking to the desired image. When pushed through a press, paper picks up the ink in reverse. As indicated by these proofs, each color required a separate design and printing stone, meaning that a single sheet of paper would go through a different press multiple times until a final, composite image emerged. Proofs like this would only have been made to allow the printer to check that the individual plates lined up correctly and printed cleanly. Afterwards, they were often discarded. It is therefore a small miracle that this complete series survives. This image was originally designed for (and rejected by) a Parisian department store. Luckily, the poster and print dealer Edmund Sagot—one of the first people to sell posters to the public—bought the composition and used it to promote his shop. His great-granddaughter still works as a poster dealer today in Paris.On View
On view
