Almanach du Parfumeur 1867

Created in 1867, this original French advertising almanac was designed by Jules Chéret for the celebrated perfumer Eugène Rimmel. Combining a practical annual calendar with illustrated entertainment and commercial promotion, it belongs to the formative period of Chéret’s career and the early development of modern advertising art.

The dense black-and-white composition is organised into illustrated columns filled with humorous scenes, short verses, comic stories, songs and visual puzzles. A calendar for the twelve months of 1867 occupies the lower centre, while the name Eugène Rimmel is prominently displayed alongside the perfumer’s international addresses in Paris, London, Brussels and Liège.

Unlike a conventional advertisement intended to be seen only briefly, an almanac was designed to remain on display throughout the year. Its mixture of useful information and amusing content kept the Rimmel name continually visible, making the work an early and sophisticated example of branded promotional material. The sheet was printed by Francisque Guyon in Saint-Denis.

Jules Chéret met Eugène Rimmel while working in London, and the perfumer became one of his earliest and most important patrons. Rimmel’s financial support helped Chéret establish his Paris printing workshop in 1866. This almanac reflects Chéret’s early style, with its intricate Victorian-inspired illustrations, before the artist developed the bold colours and dynamic figures that would later revolutionise the French poster.

With its early date, connection to Eugène Rimmel and important place in Chéret’s artistic development, this original poster will appeal to collectors of French advertising, perfume and cosmetics history, illustrated calendars and nineteenth-century graphic design. It is a rare document from the beginning of the career of one of the most influential poster artists of the modern era.

Original Poster

Cosmetics - Calendar

Eugene Rimmel

Francisque Guyon Saint Brieuc

Good condition, traces of folds, slight dirt