ADOLPHE MOURON CASSANDRE (1901-1968) LA CASQUETTE GRAND - SPORT. 1931. 31 1/2x23 inches 80x58 1/2 cm. Alliance Graphique, Paris. Condition A: small repaired tear at lower right edge; minor creases in image. This is the second poster Cassandre designed for this hat company; the first, six years earlier, was built around a strict vertical axis and had straightforward lettering. Over the intervening years between the two designs, Cassandre's stylistic evolution is evident. This poster is more picturesque and gains in evocative power what it loses in emblematic force. Cassandre had become a typography virtuoso, and here, is able to reduce the already minimal outline of the face by using the lettering to build the left side of the man's head. The head has been jauntily tilted at an angle and the pipe now conforms to one of Cassandre's favorite graphic games; its outline changes color beyond the confines of the head. Mouron 67, Suntory 44, Cassandre / Weill 115, Affiches Art Deco p. 43, Crouse p. 151, MoMA 275.1935.
