?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500
JULES CHÉRET (1836-1932) THÉÂTROPHONE. 1890. 48x33 1/4 inches. 122x84 1/2cm. Condition B+: repaired tears, creases and abrasions in margins and image; restoration along vertical and horizontal folds. The théåtrophone was a distant ancestor of the jukebox. An early telephonic device, it was originally used to "broadcast" music from the Paris Opera. Anyone who inserted a coin could listen to the music through earphones. Although the beautiful subject is a picture-perfect Cherette, she is uncharacteristically wearing black gloves, which Chéret probably included so that he could more precisely render the use of the actual machine. The gentleman in the background is suggestively waiting, either for the woman or the phone. Broido 271, Maindron 237, DFP II 192, Maîtres 33, Wember 173, Weill 33, Meisterplakate 39, Chéret 341.
