?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
DESIGNER UNKNOWN GARE DES BALLONS / THEATRE AEROSTATIQUE. Circa 1890. 51 x 36 1/2 inches. J. Bognard. Paris. Condition B+: expertly restored loss along left margin, affecting image; minor restoration along vertical and horizontal folds. A curious early document for what appears to have been a travelling fair (at least judging from the crowd depicted in the background) with balloon rides as their central attraction. Travelling fairs relied heavily on poster advertising for promotion, and those that featured balloon rides (a popular attraction dating back to the middle of the 19th century) tended to only illustrate the balloon. But here we have much more, including a large rural crowd surrounding some form of theatrical production including a pierrot and a masked columbine who is cutting the rope to allow the balloon to take off. The poster's text also indicates that the show included a pigeon act.
