As printing became less expensive and methods for the mechanical reproduction of pictures and designs were discovered, it needed no great ingenuity to add emphasis to the poster by means of pictorial illustration. Acrobats, the stall-keepers at fairs on the ice, and the like, were speedily induced to adorn their advertisements with rude drawings, while Royal proclamations were usually decorated heraldically. Early in the eighteenth century, the bills announcing the departure and arrival of coaches were headed by pictures, as for example the one which related to the Birmingham coach in 1731. Even earlier in date, there are illustrated advertisements relating to the Roman Catholic church. One of these, produced in France, dated 1602, is very curious and elaborate in design. While, however, many posters such as this are profoundly interesting to the archaeologist, they can hardly be considered works of art. It is not until the middle of the present century is reached that we find important examples of pictorial poster deliberately planned by an artist. The modern artistic poster movement, as we shall see in the next chapter, had its origin in Paris some fifty years ago. CHAPTER II.--IN FRANCE DURING THE PRESENT CENTURY |As we have seen, the idea of the poster, and even of the pictorial poster, is an extremely ancient one, but it is only at the commencement of the present century that distinguished designers deliberately attempted to make the pictorial poster a work of art. The few posters, at once pictorial and artistic, which are of earlier date than the time in question, are artistic by accident rather than by deliberate intention. So early, however, as the year 1836, we find a really distinguished French artist, Lalance, producing a poster. Lalance was, perhaps, the pioneer of pioneers, and his advertisement for the book, "Comment Meurent Les Femmes," if not of great artistic interest, cannot be overlooked in any book dealing with the history of art as applied to the poster. Only a fewr copies exist. Immediately succeeding him, we have Celestin Nanteuil engaged in producing an advertisement for an edition of "Robert Macaire," dated 1837. The year following, Rafifet brought out his "Napoleon de Norvins." This work is signed as well as dated. Raffet, in addition to the "Napoleon de Norvins," designed two more posters dealing with the career of the great emperor as well as the history of Algeria. Very soon after comes an important _affiche_, "Le Prado," by Eugene Gauche, and from that time the artistic poster became an established institution.