Vintage Car Poster: Cycles et Automobiles Legia Belgium poster – Georges Gaudy – 1898
This fabulous bicycle and automobile poster were created by the Belgian artist Georges Gaudy. It is an early advertising poster for the automotive industry, promoting cycles and automobiles made by Legia, a Belgian manufacturing company. The poster features an elegant, sophisticated woman taking a rest, leaning on her Legia bicycle. Coming towards her as she takes a glance up the road is one of Legia’s three-wheeled automobiles. Not that it was considered at the time of course but the poster now portrays a significant period in society’s history. The safety bicycle’s development in the mid-1880s was a pivotal moment for the way people saw and used bicycles.
The safety bicycle brought with it significant developments in bicycle design. Smaller wheels, a chain-driven transmission and pneumatic tyres all helped to shift the focus away from the large, dangerous high-wheel bicycles, often known as penny-farthings or ordinary bicycles. Rather than being an expensive toy for rich, sporting men to compete against each other in races, the bicycle was being seen as an everyday method of transport for men and women of all ages. The ‘safety’ allowed people to commute longer distances to work, travel for leisure into the countryside. The bicycle significantly reduced the need for horses and carriages as a mode of transport. In busy, congested cities the bicycle was relatively lightweight, affordable, easy to maintain and the fastest thing on the roads. In a great online article for National Geographic, writer Roff Smith explains “Women were especially enthusiastic, discarding their cumbersome Victorian skirts, adopting bloomers and “rational” clothes, and taking to the road in droves.”
The rise in popularity was phenomenal. Roff explains further “Bicycle makers around the world scrambled to offer their own versions, and hundreds of new companies sprang up to meet demand. At the Stanley Bicycle Show in London in 1895, some 200 bicycle makers exhibited 3,000 models.” The introduction of gasoline engines in the 1890s resulted in the motorised bicycle which soon became the motorcycle. Before long many of the early bicycle manufacturers were keen on adding an engine to four-wheeled carriages resulting in the automobile or motor car.
Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductionS and not intended fine art prints. The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £12. So you can bag a bargain of print and poster for just £22.
