Kodak - L'arbre en fleur Circa 1920

This original French Kodak advertising poster was created circa 1920 by illustrator René Lelong. Printed in color lithography by Hachard & Cie. in Paris, this example is an affiche avant la lettre—a rare impression produced before the Kodak name and promotional lettering were added to the finished design.

The composition celebrates photography as an elegant modern pastime. A fashionable young woman in a striking blue-and-white striped dress occupies the foreground, holding a folding Kodak camera on her lap. Behind her, friends gather beneath a magnificent tree covered in white spring blossoms, while another woman prepares to take a photograph. The circular landscape resembles a photographic vignette, cleverly reinforcing the subject of image-making.

Lelong combines refined fashion illustration with a fresh outdoor setting. The softly painted blossoms, vivid green hillside and patches of blue sky contrast with the sharply patterned dress and dark mechanical form of the camera. The result is both graceful and unmistakably modern, evoking leisure, friendship and the pleasure of preserving fleeting moments.

The image belongs to the celebrated tradition of the “Kodak Girl,” the fashionable and independent female photographer who became central to Kodak’s international advertising. By presenting the camera as portable, accessible and stylish, campaigns such as this helped transform amateur photography into an essential part of contemporary life.

Its before-lettering state gives the composition an especially pure and decorative appearance, allowing Lelong’s illustration to stand as an artwork in its own right. Combining early photographic history, French poster design and an elegant vision of the modern woman, this uncommon Kodak poster is an appealing collector’s piece for interiors devoted to photography, fashion or twentieth-century graphic art.

Original poster

Photography - Advertising

Poster before the letter

Good condition, bug holes, traces of folds, a lack