Alphonse MUCHA (1860-1939) Salon des Cent, 1896. Before the letter. Chromolithograph on Japan paper applied to cardboard. Signed lower left. Resigned lower right in ink. Very good condition. 64 x 43.5 cm Bibliography: - L'Affichomanie, no. 122 (the Braun copy). - Rennert / Weill, Mucha, no. 12, variant no. 72 to 75. - Salon des Cent, p. 46. A must for any collector of art-nouveau prints! The poster avant la lettre, printed as always in 50 copies signed by the artist, must have sold out instantly. In any case, in the solo exhibition devoted to him by the Salon des Cent (La Plume, no. 196, June 15 1897, no. 401). This print is not included. Léon Deschamps probably didn't have one available... On the other hand, we know that this print figured in the greatest collections of the time (Braun, Henriot), then in those of Sam Josefovitz, Neumann then Lendl, and of course in all the major institutions...