sombre poster to advertise Verdi's "Otello." At the same time, the Italian posters are not of a very distinctive type, nor does Italian taste concerning them appear to be very fastidious. The crude, enormous, and vulgar advertisements for Buffalo Bill's exhibition created quite a sensation in Rome when that redoubtable personage deigned to visit the most august of European capitals. The modern Romans forgot their Michael Angelo in the ecstasy induced by the latest enormity of the American colour printer. It may be noted that some of the posters done for the Italian railway companies are bright and gay as an Italian summer itself. The pictorial poster would not seem to have taken a great hold on Russia, nor, judging from a comparatively recent visit, has it made much headway in Scandinavia. In Holland, the present artistic vitality and enterprise of which are at once so astonishing and gratifying, one meets with very few posters of conspicuous merit. In Belgium, on the other hand, there are signs that the poster movement has affected not a few artists of distinction. The placard by Evenepoel, designed to advertise a publication in connexion with the Antwerp Exhibition, is excellent in colour and pattern and most decidedly original, owing very little to any foreign examples. Duyck's "Cortege des Fleurs (Ville de Bruxelles)" is decorative and pleasing. This artist has also designed another placard to advertise Spa (Ferme de Frahinfaz). To Delville we owe a curious little placard, in the Symbolist manner, which advertised "Pour l'art, Ier exposition a Bruxelles;" the advertisement for the second exhibition was the work of Ottevaere. A fantastic and rather picturesque poster was done to announce one of the annual exhibitions of "La Libre Esthetique." It represents a strange-looking human being standing among flowers, under a lurid sky, and holding in his hands a decorative scroll, upon which the legend is inscribed. Amongst other interesting Belgian placards are the "Velodrome Bruxellois" by G. Gaudy, the "Paul Hankar" by A. Crespin, and a poster in monochrome in imitation of a bas-relief bearing the legend "La plus noble force sociale est le Droit." All of these are reproduced here. It may be noted in conclusion that most of the Belgian posters show strong signs of French influence. [Illustration: 0376] [Illustration: 0378] [Illustration: 0380] CHAPTER XI.--THE PRICE OF THE PICTORIAL POSTER; AND CONCLUDING NOTE