Two versions at once
Henri Gabriel Ibels was the master of the collector’s edition. Many of his sheet music illustrations were actually published simultaneously as deluxe editions by Edouard Kleinmann with different versions: black-and-white or hand-coloured with watercolour, and printed on different types of paper.
These prints, produced in editions of 100, were promoted on the sheet music itself. In this way, Ibels could appeal at the same time to the general public, which bought sheet music, and to the select group that collected prints.
Henri Gabriel Ibels, The "27" (Le "27"), 1893
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, La Vache enragée, 1896
Albums and print series
Collector’s editions were not only published individually, but also as print albums and print series. Jules Chéret – the king of the poster – for instance, published the album Les Maîtres de l’affiche, with reduced-size prints of posters.
In this way, large functional prints, designed to grab attention in public spaces, were turned into collector’s editions in a more convenient format.
Armand Rassenfosse, Van Velsen Bros. Grand Brewery, Bornhem from the album Les Maîtres de l'affiche (Album I), 1896
Further reading
- Phillip Dennis Cate, Sinclair Hamilton Hitchings & André Mellerio, The Color Revolution: Color Lithography in France 1890–1900, Santa Barbara 1970
- Gérard Millot, ‘Henri-Gabriel Ibels, Nabi Illustrator of Songs: A Catalogue Raisonné of his Music Sheets’, Zimmerli Journal (2005), no. 3, pp. 198–215
- Ruth Iskin, The Poster: Art, Advertising, Design, and Collecting, 1860s/1900s., New Hampshire 2014