?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000
H. GRAY (HENRI BOULANGER, 1858-1924) PHÉBUS / PARIS. 51 1/2x35 1/2 inches, 130 3/4x90 1/4 cm. Papiers-Monnaie, Paris. Condition B+: minor repaired tears, creases and abrasions at edges and in image; right margin trimmed to image; time-staining along right edge. Matted and framed. Gray was a prolific poster designer working regularly in all fields of advertising. Overall, his posters reflect a very classic, realistic style, but there are a few extravagant exceptions. In at least three of his most famous posters, Petrole Stella in 1897, Cycles Sirius, 1899, and this undated poster, Gray's style appealingly strays into a form of sensual cosmic imagery that seemed to be somewhat in fashion for posters during that era (see Pal's Fernand Clement and Rayon d'Or, as well as the spectacular, anonymous poster for Cycles Gladiator.) This image depicts a falling angel reaching out for the wheel of a Phoebus bicycle as if to stop her fall from grace. The minimalist text consists only of the company name at the top of the poster, tenuously connected with the word "Paris," at the bottom, via emanating rays. A bizarre, yet striking image of fin-de-siecle decadence. Maitres 1900 p. 216, Weill p. 216.
