60 x 20cm
Acrylic, mixed media and resin on canvas. Nine collectable cards, manufactured by Felix Potin (1885-1908); from both the first and second series.
SOLD
Acrylic, mixed media and resin on canvas. Nine collectable cards, manufactured by Felix Potin (1885-1908); from both the first and second series.
SOLD
Collection Félix Potin takes its eponymous title from French entrepreneur Felix Potin, who in 1885 created the Collection Félix Potin as a means to promote customer loyalty to his new idea - the supermarket. Initially launched as Chocolat Felix Potin (c.1885-88), these beautifully-bound, elongated photo albums held 500 chromographic images of the 'personalities' of that time. Political, Sports and Art figures would feature as Célébrités Contemporaines - collectable monographic 4x8cm vignettes, each framing an impassive studio shot of its occupant.
From 1908 the COLLECTION FELIX POTIN cards boasted a 'Cyclisme' section - which listed such cycling notables as Paul-Ernest Bourrillon (oft billed the 'greatest sprinter in the world'), Dutchman Jaap Eden (the only male athlete to have won world championships in both speed skating and cycling), Constant Huret, Edmond Jacquelin, Ludovic Morin, and Gaston Rivierre.
They feature here as part of Collection Félix Potin - a monolithic epitaph to cycling's first renaissance.
All artwork, text and images © James Straffon 2024.