EDWARD PENFIELD (1866-1925) ORIENT CYCLES. Circa 1895. 403/4x261/2 inches. J. Ottman Litho Co., New York. Condition B: overpainting, restored losses and repaired tears in margins and image; restoration along sharp vertical fold; replaced margins. Edward Penfield is universally considered to be the first major indigenous American poster artist. As Art Director for Harper's magazine (from 1891-1900) it was his idea to issue a monthly magazine promoting the publication. The posters were so popular that many other "little magazines" followed suit. Large posters are quite rare amongst Penfield's work (and in fact rare amongst turn-of-the-century American posters in general). Yet with this design Penfield amply proves that his work works well in large format. By this stage in his career Penfield has reached his full artistic maturity, and the image is bold and superbly crafted. This is an unusual variant that does not have text proclaiming "Lead the Leaders," nor an imprint of an agent or retailer where the bicycles were available for sale. Reims 1279, Margolin p. 184 (var), Bicycle 66 (var), Kiehl 174 (var).
