Cabaret

OLYMPIA – ANCIENNES MONTAGNES RUSSES — Jules Chéret

Original stone-lithograph plate printed circa 1896 at Imprimerie Chaix (Paris) for Les Affiches Illustrées. This reduced-format lithograph for Jules Chéret’s vibrant poster for the Olympia music hall, promoting the “Anciennes Montagnes Russes” (Old Russian Mountains), a thrilling amusement attraction presented alongside the venue’s popular entertainments.

The Olympia, founded in 1888 by Joseph Oller (co-founder of the Moulin Rouge), quickly became one of the premier music halls of Paris. In addition to musical revues and stage spectacles, it offered fairground-style amusements such as the “Russian Mountains”—an early form of roller coaster imported from Russia and a popular novelty of the late 19th century. Chéret’s lively composition reflects this spirit of excitement and spectacle: joyous figures in motion, flowing banners, and dynamic color that convey both speed and festivity.

Les Affiches Illustrées (1896–1899) was one of the first publications devoted to poster art, issued in small runs for collectors. Produced under Chéret’s artistic supervision at the Chaix atelier, each plate was a reduced-format stone lithograph of a major affiche, printed on fine paper for subscribers. These works, smaller than the street posters but identical in technique, brought the new art of the poster into the hands of collectors and art lovers.

Title: Olympia – Anciennes Montagnes Russes
Artist: Jules Chéret (1836–1932)
Date: c.1896 (after the original Olympia poster of the 1890s)
Printer: Imprimerie Chaix, Paris (Les Affiches Illustrées)
Size: 21.5 × 30 cm (approx. 8.5 × 11.8 in)
Print Type: Stone lithograph
Condition: Excellent “A,” near-mint on fine wove paper
Comments: Authentic plate from Les Affiches Illustrées, produced at Chaix under the direction of Jules Chéret. Bright, clean impression with vivid colors. A classic Belle Époque poster miniature celebrating both the Olympia and the thrill of Parisian amusements at the fin de siècle.