| Absinthe Posters I |
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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. Some of the greatest poster artists of the period - Cappiello, Privat-Livemont, Lefevre, Tamagno - created famous images to advertise the absinthe grand marques. Fortunately, the greatest of them all, Toulouse Lautrec, never produced an absinthe-specific poster, thus thoughtfully sparing future generations of absinthiana collectors the necessity of a potentially financially ruinous purchase.... Scroll down this page for more background on the lithographic printing technique used to produce these posters. To buy finely printed reproduction absinthe posters, including some exclusive to this website, click here and also here. |
| A previously undocumented advertising image for Absinthe Picardine, probably originally published in the journal L'Illustration. The background shows La Corniche aux Catalans in Marseilles. |
| From a cache recently discovered in Switzerland, a medium format indoor poster for Distilleries Montbart, designed by M.Ringel. 0.7m x 0.5m. |
| Click here to buy a reproduction print of this poster. |
| One of the most iconic art nouveau images of all, this 1896 image for Absinthe Robette by the Belgian posterist Privat-Livemount has spawned a million reproductions. |
| Another famous poster also produced in 1896, designed by Nicholas Tamagno for Cusenier. The bon vivant enjoying his Absinthe Oxygénée is the French comedian Joseph-Francois Dailly (1839 - 1897). 1.28m x 0.95m. |
| Update 6th June 2006: We have a fine original of this rare poster for sale at our sister site, Absinthe Originals. |
| Tamagno's 1892 poster for Absinthe Terminus used the likenesses of two famous stage personalities of the day: Constant Coquelin and Sarah Bernhardt. Bernhardt was furious that her image was used without permission and successfully sued the manufacturers - as a result the posters had to be removed from the walls of Paris. 1.28m x 0.98m (50" x 38") format |
| A striking 1895 2 sheet poster showing Absinthe Mugnier's famous desert legionnaire by Lucien Lefèvre, a pupil of Chéret. Format 2.50m x 0.86m (98" x 34"). |
| A circa 1895 2 sheet lithographic poster for Absinthe Cusenier, measuring 1.90m x 0.71m (74" x 28"). |
| Poster for the Toulouse-based Absinthine, probably an absinthe substitute. |
An unrecorded lithographic poster
for Rosinette, Absinthe Rosé
Oxygénée, (37" x 50"), printed by
Camis around 1900.
This is the only know historical
reference to a rosé absinthe.
Click on the images to see
enlarged versions.
for Rosinette, Absinthe Rosé
Oxygénée, (37" x 50"), printed by
Camis around 1900.
This is the only know historical
reference to a rosé absinthe.
Click on the images to see
enlarged versions.
The often reproduced Absinthe Blanqui poster - a
quintessential art-nouveau image, heavily influenced by
the then fashionable vogue for orientalism. The original
is rare, with only three surviving copies recorded.
The original artists sketches for this poster are also in
the Virtual Museum.
Reproductions of this poster - and of most of the other
posters shown here - can be bought at our CafePress
store.
Click on the image to see an enlarged version.
quintessential art-nouveau image, heavily influenced by
the then fashionable vogue for orientalism. The original
is rare, with only three surviving copies recorded.
The original artists sketches for this poster are also in
the Virtual Museum.
Reproductions of this poster - and of most of the other
posters shown here - can be bought at our CafePress
store.
Click on the image to see an enlarged version.
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.
Although lithography was invented in 1796, it was at first too slow and expensive for poster production. Most posters were
woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design. This all changed in the late 19th century with Jules Cheret’s
development of the stone-lithography process, a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as
little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration.
Stone lithography involved limestone blocks, or "stones," which were prepared by grinding and sanding the stone to a smooth
surface. Limestone was used because of its porosity. Once the stone was ready, the artist drew the image directly on the stone,
using a grease crayon and ink. The greasy crayon and ink set up an insoluble, grease-attracting and therefore water-repelling
condition on the stone wherever it was applied.
When the drawing was completed, the surface of the stone was covered with an acidified solution of gum arabic. This solution
desensitized the undrawn areas of the stone, making them incapable of further grease absorption. The stone was then placed on
a printing press, and dampened with water. The areas of the stone not covered by the greasy crayon become wet, while the greasy
areas of the drawing repelled the water and remained dry. An oil-based ink was then applied to the stone with a roller, adhering
only to the drawing and being repelled by the wet areas of the stone. Dampened paper was then placed on the inked stone over
which a flat board was laid. Pressure was then applied by running the stone through a press under a greased, leather covered
scraper which transferred the inked drawing to the paper. The whole process was then repeated for each of the 3 primary colours.
Although the technique was difficult to master, the result in expert hands was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with
transparencies and nuances impossible to achieve in other media, and never equaled since, even to this day. Printing presses to
handle the huge stone blocks do not exist anymore, so printing of this quality in large format is no longer possible – one of the
reasons that, fortunately, fakes or forgeries are not generally a problem in this field.
The Absinthe Robette poster shown above, with its wonderfully subtle and translucent shades of green, is technically speaking, a
particularly superlative example of this lithographic printing process.
This ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format made the lithographic poster a powerful
innovation. Starting in the 1870s it became the dominant means of mass communication France, and spread soon afterwards to
other countries, ushering in the modern age of advertising.
In 1891, Toulouse-Lautrec’s first poster, Moulin Rouge, elevated the status of the poster to fine art. In 1894, Alphonse Mucha, a
Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of Art Nouveau poster design. Influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, the Arts and
Crafts Movement, and Byzantine art, this style dominated the Parisian scene for the next ten years. Privat-Livemont was Mucha’s
chief follower.
The collecting of posters probably began soon after the first distribution of the posters themselves. Some art dealers believed they
could sell these "advertising" pieces to their customers. They sought out the poster artists and the printers in an effort to secure
over-runs. However, the vast majority of posters were destroyed in actual use. They were mounted on walls and merely discarded
or ripped away when the next new image became available. While the posters were originally produced in editions that usually
numbered in the hundreds or even thousands, very few survive in their original state. Those that survive in good condition today,
usually originate from printer’s archives discovered many decades later.
To buy rare original vintage absinthe posters visit our sister site, Absinthe Originals.
powerful commercial and artistic medium.
Although lithography was invented in 1796, it was at first too slow and expensive for poster production. Most posters were
woodblocks or metal engravings with little color or design. This all changed in the late 19th century with Jules Cheret’s
development of the stone-lithography process, a breakthrough which allowed artists to achieve every color in the rainbow with as
little as three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration.
Stone lithography involved limestone blocks, or "stones," which were prepared by grinding and sanding the stone to a smooth
surface. Limestone was used because of its porosity. Once the stone was ready, the artist drew the image directly on the stone,
using a grease crayon and ink. The greasy crayon and ink set up an insoluble, grease-attracting and therefore water-repelling
condition on the stone wherever it was applied.
When the drawing was completed, the surface of the stone was covered with an acidified solution of gum arabic. This solution
desensitized the undrawn areas of the stone, making them incapable of further grease absorption. The stone was then placed on
a printing press, and dampened with water. The areas of the stone not covered by the greasy crayon become wet, while the greasy
areas of the drawing repelled the water and remained dry. An oil-based ink was then applied to the stone with a roller, adhering
only to the drawing and being repelled by the wet areas of the stone. Dampened paper was then placed on the inked stone over
which a flat board was laid. Pressure was then applied by running the stone through a press under a greased, leather covered
scraper which transferred the inked drawing to the paper. The whole process was then repeated for each of the 3 primary colours.
Although the technique was difficult to master, the result in expert hands was a remarkable intensity of color and texture, with
transparencies and nuances impossible to achieve in other media, and never equaled since, even to this day. Printing presses to
handle the huge stone blocks do not exist anymore, so printing of this quality in large format is no longer possible – one of the
reasons that, fortunately, fakes or forgeries are not generally a problem in this field.
The Absinthe Robette poster shown above, with its wonderfully subtle and translucent shades of green, is technically speaking, a
particularly superlative example of this lithographic printing process.
This ability to combine word and image in such an attractive and economical format made the lithographic poster a powerful
innovation. Starting in the 1870s it became the dominant means of mass communication France, and spread soon afterwards to
other countries, ushering in the modern age of advertising.
In 1891, Toulouse-Lautrec’s first poster, Moulin Rouge, elevated the status of the poster to fine art. In 1894, Alphonse Mucha, a
Czech working in Paris, created the first masterpiece of Art Nouveau poster design. Influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, the Arts and
Crafts Movement, and Byzantine art, this style dominated the Parisian scene for the next ten years. Privat-Livemont was Mucha’s
chief follower.
The collecting of posters probably began soon after the first distribution of the posters themselves. Some art dealers believed they
could sell these "advertising" pieces to their customers. They sought out the poster artists and the printers in an effort to secure
over-runs. However, the vast majority of posters were destroyed in actual use. They were mounted on walls and merely discarded
or ripped away when the next new image became available. While the posters were originally produced in editions that usually
numbered in the hundreds or even thousands, very few survive in their original state. Those that survive in good condition today,
usually originate from printer’s archives discovered many decades later.
To buy rare original vintage absinthe posters visit our sister site, Absinthe Originals.
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