ADOLPH L. WILLETTE (1857-1926) FER BRAVAIS CONTRE L'ANÉMIE. 1898. 48x34 1/2 inches, 122x88 cm. Delachy & Cie., Paris. Condition B+: restoration, overpainting and restored losses along vertical and horizontal folds; overpainting in image. Advertising medicine to fight anemia, Willette depicts a case study of the effect the illness can have. It is "a poster with social connotations, along the lines of Zola's epic realism. Dimly lit by an oil lamp, a miserable garret room opens out onto a vista [of Paris] touches of color brighten up the darkness, with flowers, pets-symbol of life and human feeling. The pallid glow from the oil lamp distinguishes two key elements: the sewing machine, the tool of work and of alienation, and the young worker, who, exhausted by the previous night work, has dropped her scissors" (Health p. 82). Willette rarely designed full color posters, most of his work is monochrmoatic. The image was also printed as a supplement for the March 6, 1898 Courrier Francais, which issued full color reproductions of famous posters of the era in smaller formats. This is the full-size version. DFP II 892, Matires 1900 p. 59, Health 105.
