EMIL ORLIK (1870-1932) POTOLOWSKY HANDSHUE. 1897. 271/2x183/4 inches. Hollerbaum & Schmidt Kunstanstalt, Berlin. Condition B+: minor loss in top right corner; creases and minor foxing in margins. Paper. Emil Orlik was active in many different fields of decorative arts, including theatrical designs, posters and printmaking. A member of the Vienna Secession he worked both in Vienna and Prague, but also traveled extensively throughout Japan, the Far East and the Middle East. Potolowsky was one of Berlin's premiere glove merchants. All that we know about him we can glean from his advertisements: He had a glove store in the elegant Friedrichstrasse Passage; in 1897 he began a concentrated advertising campaign; and he had a rather unusual sense of advertising to promote his products which were made from "dog leather." For this campaign he commissioned Emil Orlik to design three posters. Posters for gloves, or any kind of fashion, traditionally showed elegant ladies attired in the vestments being offered. And Orlik shows that he was certainly well versed in this area. DFP III 2473, Wember 642.
