41x29 1/4 inches, 104x74 1/4 cm. Condition B+: replaced losses in corners; repaired tears, replaced losses, creases and abrasions in margins; repaired tears, creases and restoration in image; small foxing spots in image. Matted and framed.
Nord Express was the second poster Cassandre designed for the Chemin de Fer du Nord railway in 1927. This stylized locomotive is a graphic glorification of the Machine Age, rendered in architecturally precise geometric shapes and white lines. The design is made even more impressive by its perspective; seen from track level, the locomotive appears all the more massive and powerful, with its great speed emphasized by the dramatic way it disappears into the horizon, (a horizon ingeniously brought even closer by the telegraph wires that also quickly disappear). Airbrush is cleverly used to create what Henri Mouron, Cassandre's son, refers to as an "authentic poetry of space." Repeating a design choice from Étoile du Nord, Cassandre again arranges the typography around the outside of the poster so as not to interfere with the image. The image has become one of the most enduring Machine Age icons. Mouron pl. 10, Cassandre / Weill 48, Suntory 49, Cassandre / Tokyo 19, Brown & Reinhold 9, Reina Sofia p. 159, Modern Poster 155, Word & Image p. 80, Weill 310, Art Deco Graphics p. 77, Affiches Art Deco p. 37, Crouse p. 254, Affiche Art Deco p. 78, The Poster p. 127, Avant Garde p. 161, MoMA 65.1943.22.
