EDWARD PENFIELD (1866-1925) POSTER CALENDAR 1897. Complete calendar. 1896. 14 1/2x10 1/2 inches, 36 3/4x26 3/4 cm. R.H. Russell & Son, New York. Condition B+: slight darkening at edges; small tears on some sheets; archival tape on verso; string at top for hanging. Numbered 72 of 250 copies, signed in ink by printer. "Perhaps an example of the very best of Mr. Penfield's earlier work. Excellent in composition, color, line and simplicity of action, it seems strongly imbued with the influence of Steinlen . . . [but has] a place of its own among American posters" (Price p. 161). Of the cover, Price writes that the image is "saliently sincere" and he is delighted to announce that its artistic merits warrant that it "could be hung beside Steinlen's Lait pur Sterilisé." This poster calendar was issued in two editions, one in which the pages were printed on both sides and this deluxe edition of 250, hand-signed by R.H. Russell, containing four full color images (each with a three month calendar) and a separate black and red proof. Kiehl 191, DFP-I 373, Virginia p. 81, Gold 100, Brandt 74.
