Chaix

The very beginning of the Art Nouveau period, the mid 1860s, transformed Paris into the 'picture gallery of the street'.   It wasn't until ca: 1865 that Jules Cheret developed the color lithography technique -- Cheret's innovations led to a law in 1881 which created official posting places in Paris , and an entirely new advertising industry was created .

Prior to Cheret's innovation, posters such as this one were individually produced using huge stones for each of the colors in the poster.  Each stone was acid etched by the artist with the part of the design that would represent that color in the poster.  Grease pencils were used to lay the color on the stones.  This method was used by French artists at the time, including Toulouse Lautrec.

Note the early 'Chaix' logo/emblem in the lower left-hand corner.  'Impremerie Chaix' was a large firm that produced art advertising posters in the above-described method.  Cheret merged his venture with Chaix in 1881, and was appointed Artistic Director of the company.