?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
WILLLIAM H. BRADLEY (1868-1962) VICTOR BICYCLES. 1895. 26x381/2 inches. Condition B-: repaired tears, overpainting, restored losses and creases in margins and image; vertical folds. His style, sometimes referred to as American Art Nouveau, a combination of Aubrey Beardsley and the work of the Arts and Crafts movement, Bradley "transformed their styles into exceptionally bold and successful designs." (Word and Image p. 20). "Because of his early training as a printer, Bradley's posters are distinguished by their good taste in typography which is an integral part of the design" (Margolin p. 27). As with so many posters in America at the height of the poster craze in the mid 1890s, this one was given an affectionate name: "In Purple and White." Larger than most of Bradley's other posters, it is "his simplest, boldest, and therefore most modern creation." (Koch p. 99). And yet despite the absence of the intricate detail that defined so much of Bradley's work, his style still carefully reflects the product advertised. "Here spokes might have marred the composition of the poster and their absence gives a feeling of lightness and airiness to the bicycle and the entire design" (Bicycle p. 9). Kiehl 27, DFP I 165, Reims 1148, Maitres pl. 152, Weill 120, Koch p. 55-56, Bicycle 51, American Style 41.
