FIRMIN BOUISSET (1859-1925) JOB. 1895. 55x343/4 inches. Affiches Camis, Paris. Condition B+: restored losses and pinholes in top margin; minor repaired tears along vertical and horizontal folds. Bouisset's poster of a young girl (his daughter Yvonne) writing on a wall to advertise Chocolat Menier launched him to instant fame within the poster world. Becoming a specialist in using children in his posters, it wasn't long before he called on his son Jacques to pose for various images. Young Jacques appears in many seminal poster images, including LU (Biscuits Lefevre Utile), Poulain and this rather surprising image for rolling papers. While child labor was certainly a part of French society at the end of the 19th century it wasn't often paraded in front of the public. So why enlist this young chimney sweep into advertising? For a possible answer we turn to the advertising genius of the parent company, Job, and its owner Jean Bardou. They had already employed the ultimate talents in the poster world to design their advertising (Jules Cheret, Alphonse Mucha, Pal and others) and Bardou realized that Bouisset's style had become a popular trend. He was obviously correct, as this charming poster was very successful.
