Chéret, Jules | Two posters for performances at the Paris Hippodrome

Chéret, Jules

Two Hippodrome posters

Holtum L'Homme aux Boulets de Canon. Paris: Chaix, [ca. 1875]. Lithograph poster (572 x 395 mm). Large depiction of John Holtum catching a cannon ball, printed in red, blue, and black; tiny chips to head and tail, a few expertly repaired tears, some rubbing and wear at head. Mounted on linen. — Hippodrome. Paris: Chaix, [ca. 1875]. Lithograph poster (553 x 420 mm). Large depiction of a tightrope walking horse, printed in red, blue, white, and black; one or two small stains and short closed tears to margins, four marginal pinholes. Mounted on linen.

Two handsome lithographs of performances at the Paris Hippodrome

Both lithographs were created by Jules Chéret, the father of the modern poster. One features John Holtum, "The Cannonball Man," who, as depicted here, was famous for catching balls fired out of cannons with his bare hands; the other poster features a tightrope walking horse, which performed every evening.