Motorcycles Comiot

Artist: T. A. Steinlen Swiss (1859-1923)

Title: Motorcycles Comiot

Plate: PL. 190

Description: Condition A.
Original lithograph from "Les Maitres de L'Affiche" series. 
Printed by Imprimerie Chaix, Paris, 1899.
Presented in 16 x 20 in. acid free, archival museum mat, with framing labels. Ready to frame. Shipped boxed flat. 
Certificate of Authenticity.

Maitre Sheet Size: 11 3/8 in x 15 3/4 in 29 cm x 40 cm

Price: $2100.00 Rare

Full size just sold for $37,500 US Poster Auctions International, N.Y. March 2024


"Based off of models by Dion-Bouton, Comiot Cycles was a short-lived brand produced around the turn-of-the-century. Here, the product could not be more charmingly portrayed, a pensive young rider flying through a swarm of geese as she breezes through the countryside."(Rennert-XXX 50)

"A new interest in nature, travelling, hiking and open-air sport had been apparent for some time by the turn of the century. Young, progressive people were particularly keen on a more mobile way of life. They wanted to escape from the narrow confines of the velvet-draped salons, in which their parents' generation had felt so much at home. Moreover in France a holiday in the country was one of the most popular forms of relaxation. The Comiot firm, in advertising it's new, two wheeled transport vehicle, fitted with every gadget from brakes to gears, directed it's appeal at the younger generation" (Paris 1900, p.180)

Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923)

"The frightened geese fleeing from the newfangled contraption show amusingly what happens when progress intrudes on rustic tranquility: something has got to give. From the set expression on the young rider, it's clear that she's determined to have her way. Steinlen didn't attempt to sell the technical details of the motorcycle; instead he sold an anecdote in graphic terms" (Rennert PAI-XXVII, 53)