VARIOUS ARTISTS L'ESTAMPE MODERNE. Complete volume of 100 plates. 1897-1899. Sizes vary, each approximately 16x12 inches, 40x30 cm. F. Champenois, Paris. Condition varies, generally A- / B+: staining at some edges; plates inside 24 issue covers, within one large folio; folio shows significant wear and is separating from its binding. Paper. L'Estampe Moderne was published between May 1897 and April 1899. As with Les Maitres de l'Affiche, every month, four prints were issued to subscribers, delivered in a portfolio sleeve designed by Mucha. In all, there was a total of 100 images. However, as the name implies, these were not posters but prints, designed by many of the popular artists of the day. The technical and editorial team responsible for publishing the works was among the best of its day: the printer was Champenois, and the directors were Charles Piazza (who published Mucha's Ilsée and Le Pater), and Charles Masson, the director of the Musée du Luxembourg. The print run was limited to only 2000 copies, with an additional 100 printed on Japan paper. Although all of the prints were designed especially for this portfolio, different printing techniques were used, as some are lithographs and some are collotypes.
