Poster Auctions International

Seldom seen, this Cassandre should be considered a masterpiece of Modern design. Advertising the French Northern Railway from Paris to the English Channel, meaning is conferred here swiftly, and with great elegance. The compass points—conflating with the speed lines of the train—the oblique angle of true North, and the convergence point of the rails all create dramatic, unusual geometries for a perfect symphonic whole. Note that the southeast compass point directs a beam of light onto the word "confort"—a trick that Cassandre would deploy, three years later, for his world-famous Pathé (illuminating "électrique" in 1932; see PAI-LXXI, 279). This is the smaller format of the poster.
Imp. L. Danel, Lille
literature: Mouron, pl. 16; Brown & Reinhold, 44, pl. 18; Cassandre/Weill, p. 54; Cassandre/Suntory, 52; Moderno Francés, p. 167; Crouse/Deco, p. 256; PAI-XCIII, 197