JULIUS GIPKENS (1883-CA. 1969) CONTINENTAL PNEUMATIK. 1914. 27 1/4x37 1/4 inches, 70x95 cm. Hollerbaum & Schmidt, Berlin. Condition B+: repaired tears in margins and image; restored losses and restoration at edges and in upper left corner. Continental Tires was founded in Germany in 1871. Making tires for bicycles and for the nascent automobile industry, they became tremendously successful not only in Germany but also in France, where they opened a major factory and hired Leonetto Cappiello and Mich (Michel Liebeaux) to design posters promoting their products. In Germany, they also employed top artists. Gipkens was a self-taught poster artist, who was extremely active, both before and after World War I. He was employed by the prestigious firm of Hollerbaum & Schmidt, whose impressive stable of artists included Lucian Bernhard, Hans Rudi Erdt, Julius Klinger and Ernest Deutsch. Gipkens follows Bernhard's with Object Posters, boldly presenting a portion of a tire with a sign hanging from its air valve. DFP-III 1040, Pneu Continental p. 22, Jugend 231.
