Maina Juan – Louis Juan – c1910

This vintage poster, created by the artist Harford circa 1920 features Maina Juan. In the 1920s Maina was considered an astrologist. Today she would be known as a psychic or clairvoyant. We cannot find any information on her, however, she has become quite a celebrity following the appearance of another poster of her that appears in the incredibly successful US sitcom, Friends. Where it was placed by the front door of Monica and Rachel’s living room. In this poster, Maina looks much younger and she appears in front of an image of the signs of the zodiac .

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was a fascination with what we would call the dark arts. Darwin’s book, on the origin of the species, gave the world a theory of evolution that was at odds with the religious belief of creation. For the Victorians, this gave way to searching for answers to many questions and an avid interest in freak shows, circuses, magic shows, mind-reading, astrology, horoscopes, seances to try to communicate with the dead, tarot cards, and palm readings to try to see into the future, were phenomenally popular experiences.

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 a 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.