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The ideal accessory for the poster history nerd, the panels of this umbrella show a progressive proof for a poster designed by Jules Chéret in 1891. Originally designed to advertise a Parisian department store, the poster and its test prints were instead acquired by Edmund Sagot, the first major poster dealer, and miraculously preserved for posterity.
Chéret is known as the "Father of the Poster" for perfecting the large-format printing process that allowed full-color posters to be made cheaply and quickly for commercial advertising. This series of proofs shows how chromolithography works. Each color required a separate design and printing stone. A single sheet of paper goes through each press before a final, composite image emerges.
Layered together, these colors and designs render an elegantly dressed vivacious young woman, a ubiquitous archetype in Chéret's advertisements. These "Chérettes" were a turning point in how women were portrayed in media. Previously women were depicted in art as ancient or allegorical, saint or sinner. Chérettes were shown in contemporary garb and environments, all for the sake of that most modern of activities—purchasing products. These street-facing advertisements became an important part of the urban fabric of Paris and emboldened a new class of women who increasingly wore low-cut bodices and smoked in public.
Manufactured by ART IS NYC, a woman-owned business. Measures 38 inches opened, 11 inches closed. Auto open/close button.
