THEATRE DU CHAT NOIR / L'ENFANT PRODIGUE. Two posters. Circa 1895.
Each approximately 23½x16½ inches, 59½x42 cm Condition varies generally B. Paper.
In the very early days of movies, before they were anything other than a novel curiosity, shadow projections became one of the most popular entertainments in Paris. After the 1892 success of Emile Raymand's Pantomimes Lumineuses (as advertised by a Chéret poster) the trend culminated at the Chat Noir, where they were all the rage from 1885 to 1897. Although many people consider the Chat Noir to have been a cabaret where performers like Aristide Bruant appeared (in fact he never sang there), that is largely incorrect. There were poets and chansonniers there, but the atmosphere was more like a literary café, and the main attractions that brought "tout Paris" to its doors were the shadow pantomimes under the art direction of the genius Henri Riviere. He invented and built a theatre that, at its peak, employed over ten musicians, a choir, and a dozen stagehands. La Marche a l'Etoile was his biggest hit, and it was even published as a luxurious album by Enoch.
To promote all the shows, which changed frequently, Rudolphe Salis, the owner, used black and white posters. Both of these posters advertise L'Enfant Prodigue, one with a blue watercolor border.
