VARIOUS ARTISTS CONCOURS DU BI-BORAX. 1898. 86 1/4x123 1/4 inches, 219x313 cm. Chaix, Paris. Condition B+: repaired tears and creases in margins and image; restoration and restored losses along vertical and horizontal folds. Four sheets. At the peak of the poster craze in the mid-1890s, poster contests were very much in vogue. The first one was held in 1895 and was organized in America by The Century Magazine for "The Life of Napoleon." The French newspaper L'Eclair organized a contest in 1897. In each case a prestigious jury was assembled. In 1898 a new twist was added. Bi-Borax, a cleaning powder, decided that for their competition a jury would pre-select eight images to be printed on a giant poster and displayed around Paris for the public to choose a winner. (The images were also printed in magazines, asking readers "which is the best poster?" and promising everyone who responded before the end of May 1898, a sample of the product and an illustrated brochure!) Collectors rushed to obtain the billboards and cut them into 8 separate posters. Thus when they appear on the market, the images do not have margins, nor do they bear printer's imprints. The original, complete billboards are extremely rare. Of the eight artists whose work was chosen to be in the Bi-Borax competition, only two (Detouche and Poulbot) ever made lasting names for themselves. The other, pure French Art Nouveau images clearly reflect the influence of Eugene Grasset. Health 198-204 (var).
