THEOPHILE-ALEXANDRE STEINLEN (1859-1923) LE JOURNAL / LES MYSTÈRES DE LA TOUR POINTUE. 1899. 31 3/8x23 1/8 inches. Charle Verneau, Paris. Condition A-: repaired tears in margins and image; vertical and horizontal folds. Steinlen designed the posters for several serialized novels that appeared in Le Journal, including Le Coupable and La Traite des Blanches. Les Mystères de la tour Pointue was a series of crime stories written by a former chief of police. The image depicted is from the first story, L'affaire Joizel, in which a woman is accused of killing her husband. But Steinlen, "taking the most outstanding scene [and] extreme situation of the novel" (Bargiel p. 62) shockingly shows that the husband was murdered by his mistress/prostitute's pimp. Much like tabloids today, this was the kind of story that fascinated and transfixed the public and Steinlen provides a realistic and dramatic image. This poster is only known to exist in this small format. Bargiel 38, Fit to Print.
