Antikbar Original Vintage Posters
Lot 1204
Original vintage advertising poster card issued by Nord Express to promote their Calais - Bruxelles - Pullman Express route. Lithograph card printed on both sides by Hachard & Cie, Paris. France, 1927. Size: 14.7x10.4cm. Good condition, bumps and small tears on margins, minor loss on bottom right margin, fold on top right corner. Iconic design by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre created in 1927. It shows a stylised image of a train speeding towards the horizon, with a cloud of smoke and a blue sky above it. The visual language owes much to Cubism, but belongs to the Art Deco in its imagery and the unmistakable modernity of the subject matter. The image communicates the glamour of travel in simple lines. Cassandre, pseudonym of Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron (1901- 1968) was a French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer. He was born Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to French parents. As a young man, Cassandre moved to Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and at the Académie Julian. The popularity of posters as advertising afforded him an opportunity to work for a Parisian printing house. Inspired by cubism as well as surrealism, he earned a reputation with works such as Bûcheron (Woodcutter), a poster created for a cabinetmaker that won first prize at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. Cassandre became successful enough that with the help of partners he was able to set up his own advertising agency called Alliance Graphique, serving a wide variety of clients during the 1930s. He is perhaps best known for his posters advertising travel, for clients such as the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. His creations for the Dubonnet wine company were among the first posters designed in a manner that allowed them to be seen by occupants in moving vehicles. His posters are memorable for their innovative graphic solutions and their frequent denotations to such painters as Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso. In addition, he taught graphic design at the École des Arts Décoratifs and then at the École d'Art Graphique. With typography an important part of poster design, the company created several new typeface styles. Cassandre developed Bifur in 1929, the sans serif Acier Noir in 1935, and in 1937 an all-purpose font called Peignot. In 1936, his works were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City which led to commissions from Harper's Bazaar to do cover designs.
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