Plate: TL. 22

Price: $125.00 USD

Other version available (printed 1900)

"In her recent excellent biography of Lautrec, Julia Frey indicates that 'Henry, the frustrated athlete, was compulsively familiar with the vocabulary and technical aspects of a variety of sports in which he could participate as a spectator: horse and bicycle racing, wrestling, yachting, bullfighting. He watched them all with the same intensity that he watched a line of dancers or a circus bareback rider, attracted by the beauty of movement, but also by the smells, sounds and excitement of the spectacle (Frey, p.353) His 'insider' knowledge of the cycling field shows up abundantly in this poster for the French agent of the Simpson bicycle chain company. In the foreground is the champion cyclist Constant Huret. In the background are Tristan Bernard, the sports impresario who was a close friend of Lautrec, with Louis Bougle, the French agent who adopted the name 'Spoke.' A touch of levity is added by what appears to be a 'bicycle-built-for-ten' in the upper-left corner, in fact it's two five-seaters, known at the time as 'quints.'"(Rennert, PAI-XXII, 35)

During the 1960s the renowned French printer, Mourlot Freres, printed this superb series "Les Affiches de Toulouse-Lautrec" for collectors. They are reduced lithographic versions of Lautrec's most famous works. They are truly the most beautiful printing we have been able to find in this size format.

As vintage printings of Lautrec's work, in all formats, reach high prices, this mid-century printing offers a superb alternative at a reasonable price that will only appreciate in value.