L'ORLOFF. 1928. 621/2x463/4 inches. H. Chachoin, Paris. Condition A-: restored losses in corners; restoration along edges. L'Orloff was an operetta of minor historical, musical, and dramatic importance. The three-act show, which opened on December 28, 1928, was produced in a second-rate theater and didn't include any hit songs. The writers Roger Ferreol and Georges Merry, and the composer Bruno Granichstaedten are not even mentioned on the poster, nor is the tenor Andre Bauge, who sang the lead role. The only attribute that commends it to history is this first-rate poster. Using only pink and black, Colin is able to sum up the entire plot, which involves both a love story and the pursuit of a diamond from Moscow to New York. "L'Orloff" refers to the diamond itself and is depicted in the "O" of the poster's title. The main characters and the main settings are skillfully intertwined as if in a dance in this charming and well-balanced image. On one side, a fashionable young woman beneath the towering skyscrapers of New York City, and on the other a Russian prince with the towers of the Kremlin behind him. Previously unrecorded, this poster must have been extremely rare even in 1928, as its printing run would have been very small, and few if any would have been kept as they all would have been posted to promote the show.
