ADOLPHE MOURON CASSANDRE (1901-1968) NORD EXPRESS. 1927. 41 1/2x29 1/2 inches, 105 1/2x75 cm. Hachard & Cie., Paris. Condition B+ / B: minor restoration along sharp vertical and horizontal folds; restored pin holes and restoration in corners; minor repaired tears at edges. 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 and is 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, which also quickly disappear). An 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 the Étoile du Nord, Cassandre has again arranged 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 pl. 13, Suntory 49, p. 73, Cassandre / Tokyo 18, Brown & Reinhold 9, Reina Sophia p. 159, Modern Poster 155, Word & Image p. 80, Weill 310, Art Deco Graphics p. 77.
