Cycles de Dion-Bouton poster – Felix Fournery – 1925

Cycles de Dion-Bouton poster

The De Dion-Bouton brand was already a successful manufacturer of tricycles, voitures and automobiles when they journeyed into the manufacture 0f bicycles. The company first began producing cycles at the beginning of 1910. De Dion-Bouton was quick to use the humble poster to announce to the world that the company had expanded to include bicycles in its range of products and to target a specific clientele with their new models. This Cycles de Dion-Bouton poster was created in 1912 by the French artist Felix Fournery. In his Cycles de Dion-Bouton poster Fournery has offered an image of an elegantly-dressed young woman with her faithful companions… her De Dion-Bouton bicycle and her loyal afghan hound.

Enjoying the freedom the cycle has provided, the thoroughly modern Millie is portrayed holding on to her hat whilst standing on a breezy clifftop. The stylish cyclist and her dependable dog have chosen to take a cycle ride out to the seafront for the day. The ride downhill to the beach from high up on the cliff is going to be fun for the youthful socialite and her dog. When she gets down there she will be closer to the sailing boats that are tacking their way around the coastline. It’s an elegant, classy image that was designed to appeal to the 1920s empowered women.

The De Dion-Bouton company

The name De Dion-Bouton is relatively unknown nowadays. The name is now largely forgotten except for the limited amount of people who deal in or collect vintage cars, motorcycles or bicycles. However, at the turn of the twentieth century, the company were the world’s largest car manufacturer. The company was formed in 1883 by two engineers Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux together with the Marquis Jules-Alberet de Dion under the name De Dion, Bouton et Trépardoux. The company got off to an auspicious start. During the first year, the company attempted and dropped the idea of steam engines for boats and instead built a self-propelling steam car.

According to Wikipedia “with the boiler and engine mounted at the front, driving the front wheels by belts and steering with the rear, it burned to the ground on trials”.

Just a year later they built a second car. This one had more conventional steering and rear-wheel drive. They named it La Marquise and it seated four passengers. In 1887 the Marquis entered the car into “Europe’s first motoring competition”. The race was organised by the French cycling magazine Le Velocipede. The poorly promoted event, or just the lack of vehicles around at the time, it turned out that de Dion in his La Marquise was the only entrant. The steam car completed the course with the Marquis at the wheel.

Buoyed by the car’s successful trial, the company began to produce and sell steam tricycles in small numbers. Shortly after a larger agricultural tractor was added to the vehicles on offer. Two further cars were made in 1885 followed by a series of tricars, which from 1892 had Michelin pneumatic tyres. In 1890 patented a single-cylinder petrol engine. The move away from steam-propelled vehicles led to Trépardoux resigning from the company.  Tts name changed to De Dion-Bouton. Of the many French marques with historic significance, De Dion Bouton was to become one of the most influential.

Gaining a reputation for quality, reliability, and durability. The company went from strength to strength and by 1900, De Dion-Bouton had become the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, producing 400 cars and 3,200 engines. The company soon began producing engines and licenses for other automobile companies, with an estimated 150 different makes using them.

Unlike most car manufacturers who had developed progressively from bicycles to tricycles, to voitures and automobiles. De Dion-Bouton entered into bicycle construction in late 1909 or early 1910, more than twenty years after its first steam car. However, the company’s reputation for quality stood them in good stead. Using the skills and expertise of the De Dion-Bouton factory their bicycles were built to a high standard, built to last and totally satisfy their customer’s needs.

How much is a Felix Fournery Cycles de Dion-Bouton poster worth?

Original copies of this poster currently sell for about £1000. There’s no argument from us, if you can find an original copy and can afford to buy it, you’re on to a winner. There’s nothing like owning an original vintage poster and they often make a great investment. Chances are in just a few years you’ll be able to sell it for more than you paid for it. Unfortunately, for most of us, an investment, even at the entry-level prices of the collectable poster isn’t even close to being a possibility. This is where our stunning high-quality reproductions come into their own. They cost a fraction of an original and look absolutely fantastic when they’re framed and hung on your living room wall. This one is a beauty! Order yours today.