Artist: Geo. Weiss
Condition: B *
Dimensions: 43.7 x 62 in. / 111 x 157.5 cm.
Circa: 1895
Linen Backed
* See Condition Grading section for further details
The linen is trimmed to the edges and slightly into them in some areas; some margin staining/toning; some margin tears, wear, creasing, crinkling, small losses; some scratches upper left corner and image area; creasing/cracking/surface scuffs/abrasions in image; overall the poster is in rather nice condition and should display well once framed.
This striking Belle Époque poster advertises Société La Française, one of the pioneering French bicycle manufacturers founded in Paris in 1889–90. The image captures a fashionably dressed young woman confidently riding a "safety" bicycle through a shadowy, atmospheric background, her wheel rim wrapped in the French tricolor, which is a bold patriotic touch typical of the era's advertising art. The Marque Diamant name refers to the brand's signature five-diamond emblem on the bicycle frame, introduced that same year and destined to become one of the most recognizable marks in French cycling history.