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Pate Dentifrice du Docteur Pierre de la Faculte de Medecine de Paris

Date1896

Illustration CitationFrench advertising poster for Doctor Pierre's toothpaste Les Maitres de L'affiche plate 26

MediumCommercial lithograph

Dimensionscomposition: 12 3/4 × 8 15/16 in. (32.4 × 22.7 cm)
sheet: 15 11/16 × 11 7/16 in. (39.8 × 29.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of Helen Farr Sloan, 1986

Object number1986-198

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Label TextThis poster advertises the toothpaste of "Doctor Pierre" of the University of Paris with the assurance in the lower right that it is on sale everywhere. An attractively dressed girl stands in a well-appointed room, so that consumers would associate the product not just with effectiveness but also with a pleasing atmosphere. The wallpaper's cherry blossom pattern reflects the Japanese influence popular in graphic arts at the time, another sign of a purchaser's good taste.

Primarily an illustrator of children’s books, Louis Maurice Boutet de Monvel also created advertising posters. Commercial artists often relied on just a few colors to design eye-catching works without the expense of full color reproduction. This small poster was one of many reproduced from the large ones that covered the walls and kiosks of Paris in the 1890s. Regarded as works of art in their own right, the small versions were eagerly collected by the public. America experienced a "poster craze" of its own, making these collectibles an international
phenomenon.