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100
THEATRE DU CHAT NOIR.
Two posters. Circa 1890.
231/2x161/2 inches.
- Notes: In the very early days of movies, before they were anything other than a novel curiosity, shadow projections became one of the most popular entertainments in Paris. After the 1892 success of Emile Raymand's Pantomimes Lumineuses (as advertised by a Cheret poster) the trend culminated at the Chat Noir, where they were all the rage from 1885 to 1897. Although many people consider the Chat Noir to have been a cabaret where performers like Aristide Bruant appeared (in fact he never sang there), that is largely incorrect. There were poets and chansonniers there, but the atmosphere was more like a literary café, and the main attractions, that brought "tout Paris" to its doors, were the shadow pantomimes under the art direction of the genius Henri Riviere. He invented and built a theatre that, at its peak, employed over ten musicians, a choir, and a dozen stage hands. La Marche a l'Etoile was his biggest hit, and it was even published as a luxurious album by Enoch. To promote all the shows, which changed frequently, Rudolphe Salis, the owner, used black and white posters. Of the two offered here one is for the mythical Marche a l'Etoile and the other is a stock poster, with a deliciously designed frame built of stylized cats (the artist's signature on this piece has never been identified). DFP II 972 (var), Montmartre p. 225.
- Condition: Condition B: paper loss and tears in margins; discoloration in papaer. Paper.
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December 18, 2003 12:00 AM EST
New York, NY, US
Swann Auction Galleries
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