Valencay c1926 French Travel Advertising Poster, Jean Charles Hallo

This circa 1926 travel advertising poster for Valençay was created by French artist Charles-Jean Hallo (1882–1969), a prolific painter, illustrator, and poster designer celebrated for his contributions to early 20th-century railway advertising. Over his career, Hallo produced more than 100 posters for the French railway system, many of which remain iconic examples of vintage travel art.

Commissioned by the Chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans (Paris–Orléans Railway), the poster was part of a larger campaign promoting rail tourism to the Châteaux de la Loire — the famous castles of the Loire Valley. This particular piece highlights the Château de Valençay, a stately Renaissance château located in the Indre department of central France.

▼France has a long and rich history in poster design that dates back to the mid-19th century.... CLICK TO READ MORE

One of the most influential figures in the development of vintage posters was the French poster artist Jules Chéret. Around 1866, Chéret is credited with producing the first colour lithograph posters, using a technique he refined from the black and white process first invented by German actor and playwright Alois Senefelder in 1798. Cheret's three stone lithographic process allowed artists to achieve every colour in the rainbow using just three stones - usually red, yellow and blue - printed in careful registration.

The Parisian artists, headed by Cheret and including masters Steinlen, Willette, Grasset, Bonnard, Forain and, last but certainly not least, Toulouse-Lautrec's vibrant and eye-catching designs influenced, in part, by Japanese Woodcuts brought a new level of visual appeal to the streets of Paris and, in turn, established the poster as an art form.

The Belle Époque (Beautiful Era), a period of peace and frivolity in France from the late 19th to the early 20th century (1870-1914), played a significant role in the continued advancement of poster design. This era coincided with economic growth and the rise of a new middle class with disposable income and leisure time. It was during this time that the poster craze took hold in France, with posters being used for advertising various products, events, and entertainment.

Over the decades that followed from these auspicious beginnings French poster design continued to flourish and designers from around the world followed suit in experimenting with poster design for advertisements for cultural events, travel, film, food and drink and more.

This original vintage movie poster has been professionally linen-backed and is sized 28 3/4 x 40 7/8 inches (plus a couple more inches for the linen). It will be sent rolled (unframed).

• Year: c1926
  
• Poster Type: French Railway Travel Poster
  
• Style: -
• Art By: Jean Charles Hallo
  
• Rolled/Folded/Other: Rolled Linen-backed
  
• Condition: Near Mint/Mint
  
• Condition Details: Originally rolled, now professionally linen-backed. Looks superb.