THE MAIN WORK OF BELLE EPOQUE POSTERS

SPONSEL, JEAN LOUIS

Das Moderne Plakat.

Dresden, Verlag von Gerhard Kühtmann. 1897.

Large4to. In contemporary half cloth with leather title-label to spine. Light discolouration to upper margins of boards. Inner front hinge quite weak. Internally very nice and clean. VII, 316 pp. +  52 colour lithograph plates and 266 monotone illustrations (included in the pagination). 

First edition of one of the most important and influential art-historical publications of the Belle Époque. This magnificent work established the artistic poster as a recognised and serious art form. The work provides a comprehensive geographical survey of the principal poster artists of the day and includes 52 colour lithograph plates and 266 monochrome illustrations by Chéret, Toulouse-Lautrec, Steinlen, Grasset, Mucha, Will Bradley, Louis Rhead, and others.

Jean Louis Sponsel (1858–1930) was a German art historian and museum director in Dresden, known for his studies on the decorative and graphic arts. Director of the Grünes Gewölbe and scholar of the Kupferstich-Kabinett, he was among the first to recognise the artistic importance of the modern poster. The present work remains a landmark publication, elevating poster design to the status of fine art.

Order-nr.: 62774