Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case MB2F, Shelf DR77

La Petite Poucette

Poster
ca. 1891 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This poster advertises the musical production, 'La Petite Poucette'. The part of the child protagonist, Poucette, was played by a famous vaudeville actress, Milly Meyer. The synopsis of the musical was given as follows, in a review published in the New York Times on March 29, 1891:

'Seven daughters and seven sons come to Paris from Auvergne under the guard of the youngest child, Poucette. Everything goes wrong, but Poucette makes everything right. She has a rare talent for disguise, and dances and sings as the dilemma may require (...). What more can one ask than the comfortable enjoyment of easy fun, with no intellectual wear and work?'

An earlier review in the same newspaper was less gracious, observing of its star,

'When she is on stage the nonsense of the play is attractive, but all the rest is dull and wearisome.'


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLa Petite Poucette (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph
Brief description
Poster,'La Petite Poucette' by Maurice Boutet de Monvel, French, 19th Century.
Physical description
A young girl dressed in French folk dress is depicted singing and holding a red umbrella. Behind her in a cartouche-like rectangle can be seen a chorus of girls in similar attire, set against a cream ground.
Dimensions
  • Height: 788mm
  • Width: 575mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'La Petite Poucette' (Upper centre)
  • 'BM.' (Initials, lower left.)
  • 'De Maurice ORDONNEAU ET Maurice HENNEQUIN Musique De RAOUL PUGNO' (Centre right.)
  • 'Paris, E. BIARDOT, Editeur, 22, Place de la Madeleine' (Lower left)
  • 'Imp Eug. Marx Paris' (Lower right)
Credit line
Given by Mrs J.T. Clarke
Subjects depicted
Summary
This poster advertises the musical production, 'La Petite Poucette'. The part of the child protagonist, Poucette, was played by a famous vaudeville actress, Milly Meyer. The synopsis of the musical was given as follows, in a review published in the New York Times on March 29, 1891:

'Seven daughters and seven sons come to Paris from Auvergne under the guard of the youngest child, Poucette. Everything goes wrong, but Poucette makes everything right. She has a rare talent for disguise, and dances and sings as the dilemma may require (...). What more can one ask than the comfortable enjoyment of easy fun, with no intellectual wear and work?'

An earlier review in the same newspaper was less gracious, observing of its star,

'When she is on stage the nonsense of the play is attractive, but all the rest is dull and wearisome.'
Bibliographic reference
Coutts, Howard and Claire Jones Toulouse Lautrec and the art of the French Poster. Bowes Museum, 2004. 53 p., ill. ISBN 0954818202.
Collection
Accession number
E.320-1921

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Record createdApril 10, 2007
Record URL
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