A LA GERBE D'OR.

61x42 1/2 inches. Chaix, Paris.
Condition B+: vertical and horizontal folds, restoration and overpainting in image.
Located in the very center of mid 19th century commercial Paris, near les Halles, La Gerbe d'Or (the Golden Sheaf) was one of a number of large stores, targeted at bourgeois consumers, where they could find a large range of inexpensive watches and jewelry. Such grand names for what were basically department stores were quite common in those days, as the names of other, nearby, emporiums such as Paradis des Dames (Women's Paradise) and Belle Jardiniere (Beautiful Gardener) attest. This poster is an early work by Meunier, before his style became strongly (and positively) influenced by Cheret. At his best Meunier was producing posters that were equal in stature to those of Cheret, but this image (while better than many of the other similar posters of its era) bears the mark of a demanding client, who wanted his store and all of his text thrown into the image.