Posters

The antique collectible poster is a printed graphic work, originally conceived to inform, promote, or adorn public spaces. From the final third of the nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, colour lithography established itself as the dominant process, enabling high-quality print runs in large quantities. France occupies a central place in this production: Paris was home to the great printing houses — Chaix, Vercasson, Devambez — which collaborated with poster artists who became absolute references in the field, among them Jules Chéret, Alphonse Mucha, Leonetto Cappiello, and Cassandre. Italy, Belgium, and the United States simultaneously developed their own distinctive graphic schools, particularly evident in cinema and transport posters.

Styles succeeded one another with a discernible chronological coherence: the organic curves and ethereal feminine figures of Art Nouveau gave way, in the 1920s and 1930s, to the rigorous geometry and bold flat colours of Art Déco. Supports vary — vellum paper, coated paper, sometimes canvas-backed for large formats — and their condition directly determines the value of a piece.

For the discerning collector, several criteria determine the quality of an example: one must examine the condition of the paper — foxing, tears, pronounced creases, or invisible restorations —, the vibrancy of the colours, which attests to limited exposure to light, as well as the presence of the artist's signature and printer's marks. An original period print is distinguished from a later reissue by the texture of the paper, the ink, and the technical characteristics specific to the original lithographic process.