Description
“F. & D. Maly – Praha” is a stone-pulled lithograph designed and created for Les Maitres de L’Affiche by the artist Karel Reisner in 1897.
Annotation
F & D Maly – Praha is an original vintage poster; it is not a reproduction. This poster is printed on heavyweight paper and in excellent condition. The date of printing is 1898. Early printed posters were very text-heavy, with relatively few illustrations. After all, they were created to advertise products, and adding an illustration to an advertisement in the mid-1800s was not commonplace. During the second half of the nineteenth century, when all types of commercial products were aesthetically upgraded, serious artists began to see the new possibilities in the poster medium. By linking their imagery to modern commerce, the thinking was that each would be enhanced by the value of the other.
“Les Maitres De L’Affiche” (The Masters of the Poster) is a phrase that refers to one of the most prestigious and influential art publications in history. The 256 color plates that make up the suite represent a wide-ranging selection of outstanding original posters from the turn of the twentieth century when this popular art form first reached its peak.
The founder Jules Cheret (1836-1932) whose unique combination of artistic, technical, and entrepreneurial talents paved the way for an actual poster industry. Cheret opened his own print shop in Paris in 1866 – Imprimerie Chaix – and his work then began to inspire numerous emulators throughout Europe and America.
By the 1890s the streets of every great city were enlivened by large, colorful posters. The posters had not only caught the fancy of the public, but its best examples were already being regarded as true works of art (specifically, as fine prints) to be exhibited, reviewed in journals, and collected and reproduced in a more manageable form. In the last five years of the century, the ebullient spirit of the “Belle Epoque”, gave birth to a new artistic movement. It was during those years that Imprimerie Chaix was to play a significant part in codifying, hallowing, and perpetuating Cheret’s vision through printmaking. The print shop published smaller chromolithographic versions (in authentic colors) of over 200 highly regarded posters from the time. These posters were created by more than 90 great artists, each bringing this fabulous period to life for us today.
The renowned set of 256 posters was created by Imprimerie Chaix, forever to be known as a set as “Les Maitres de La’Affiche.” Each poster was rendered as a separate sheet measuring 11 ¼ x 15 – inches. The set was compiled uniquely. Every month for 60 months – from December 1895 through November 1900 – subscribers received a wrapped parcel containing four consecutively numbered poster reproductions.
