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Up for consideration is a rare and authentic late 19th-century vintage lithograph poster featuring "The Original Emile Girards," published by Montague Chatterton & Co. in London.
This historic piece measures approximately 22 3/4 by 17 3/8 inches and has been professionally linen-backed for preservation and stability. The condition is graded as A-, showing minor toning, foxing, and creasing, alongside subtle marginal tears that have been expertly repaired and inpainted. A remarkable artifact celebrating the golden age of Victorian entertainment, ideal for serious collectors of vintage circus, theatrical, and magic ephemera.
Maker Bio & Historical Information
The Publisher: Montague Chatterton & Co. was a prominent London-based lithography and printing firm active during the late Victorian era, known for producing high-quality promotional posters for theaters, music halls, and touring novelty acts.
The Performers: The Emile Girards were an internationally celebrated acrobatic and physical comedy troupe. During the late 19th century, they captured public imagination with their distinct style of high-energy performance.
Interesting Facts
Pioneers of "Leg-Mania": The troupe was famously renowned for "leg-mania"—an extreme, hyper-flexible style of dance and leg-acrobatics that heavily influenced early slapstick and eccentric variety performance.
Surreal Physical Comedy: Moving far beyond traditional acrobatics, their routines incorporated bizarre, "rubbery" contortions and surreal theatrical dance sequences that left contemporary audiences both bewildered and thoroughly entertained.
