La Gomme | Maitre de L’Affiche: Plate #225

This artwork is from Les Maitres de L’Affiche series; miniature versions of outstanding stone lithograph artworks of the most important advertising posters by the finest artists.
“The novel being sold here was about people living in the fast lane of Paris a century ago. ‘La Gomme’ means a scam and ‘Le Gommeux'(or it’s female counterpart, ‘La Gommeuse’), is a cheap dandy, what we called swells in the 1920’s, and we see a jolly group of them here. Cheret’s poster design was also used as the cover of the book. Interesting enough, the book was being sold for 3.5 francs but the poster advertising it cost 5 francs at Sagot’s print shop”(Rennert, PAI-VIII,13)