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The height of the absinthe boom in the late 19th century, coincided with the rise of the large
lithographic advertising poster as a powerful commercial and artistic medium - pioneered by
the work of Jules Chéret. Absinthe producers were quick to take advantage of this new
advertising opportunity, and a range of largely art-nouveau influenced posters are shown here,
in a variety of formats, from multi-sheet billboard-sized versions to smaller card-backed
printings designed for display in bars and bistrots.
Anti-absinthe posters were produced by temperance organisations like the Ligue Nationale
Contre L'Alcoolisme, while the pro-absinthe (anti-prohibitionist) forces followed suite with
some remarkable posters of their own.
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Absinthe Posters I
The height of the absinthe boom in the late 19th century, coincided with the rise of the large lithographic advertising poster as
a powerful commercial and artistic medium - pioneered by the work of Jules Chéret. Some of the greatest poster artists of the
period - Cappiello, Privat-Livemont, Lefevre, Tamagno - created famous images to advertise the absinthe grand marques.
Absinthe Posters IV - Anti-Absinthe
Anti-absinthe posters were produced both by temperance organisations like
the Ligue Nationale Contre L'Alcoolisme (or the Croix Bleue as it was known),
and by manufacturers of rival aperitifs like Kolamarque, Byrrh and St Raphael.
Absinthe Posters V - Anti-Alcohol
A previously undocumented large poster designed by Frédéric Christol (1850-1933) and printed in 1910 by Berger & Levrault,
Nancy . It was reproduced, with altered colours, as the frontpiece of Achille Mélandri's L'Etoile bleue - Absinthe, Vermouth,
Bitter & Cie in 1912.
Absinthe Posters VII - Original Artwork and Proofs
Two preliminary sketches (or maquettes) in ink, pastel and watercolour for one of the most famous of all absinthe posters,
Absinthe Blanqui's smiling redhead, printed sometime between 1898 and 1901, together with an original oil-crayon and
watercolour maquette for Gélis-Didot and Malteste's 1894 Absinthe Parisienne poster.
Absinthe Posters VIII - Oversized or Billboard Posters
Including probably the largest absinthe poster in existence, a previously unrecorded 3-sheet version of the famous Absinthe
Junod poster by Misti. Each individual sheet measure 1.35m x 2m, giving a total size of 4m x 2m, or just over 13ft by 6ft 7"
Absinthe Posters IX - Chromolithographic Cartons
Designed to hang indoors, these smaller format chromolithographic posters, usually backed onto board, have a charm all
their own. The most famous is the Charles Maire painting for Pernod Fils, but perhaps the most graphically striking is the
1894 Terminus calender.
Buy Absinthe Posters
We're proud that AllPosters.com, the biggest poster retailer in the world, has selected more than a 100 images based on
original posters, prints and advertising cartons in the Virtual Absinthe Museum for inclusion in their range of fine reproduction
vintage posters. They're available worldwide through all the AllPosters and Art.com sites, or right here, by clicking any of the
images in the box below.
Absinthe Posters XI - L'Alcool Voila L'Ennemi
An extraordinary large scale double sided anti-alcohol poster, illustrating graphically the alleged dangers of industrial alcohol
and absinthe, and praising the healthy effects of wine, cider and beer!
Absinthe Posters XII - Coming soon