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Offered for your consideration is a rare and striking late 19th-century color lithographic poster advertising the Brothers Gayton, legendary musical clowns and roller skaters. Published by the renowned lithographic atelier of Alex. Hönig in Berlin, this vibrant poster captures the high-energy spectacle of Victorian variety entertainment and early roller skating craze.
The artwork features dynamic vignettes of the performers executing incredible balancing feats, including balancing elaborate tiered candelabras and glassware on their heads while gliding on early roller skates. The background is filled with comical scenes of tumbling skaters, physical comedy, and portrait medallions of the brothers labeled "Bobb" and "Bibb".
Dimensions: Approximately 27 7/8 x 18 1/2 inches.
Medium: Color lithograph, linen-backed.
Condition: Features expected age toning and surface dirt. Marginal wear and tearing present with professional repair and inpainting, particularly confined to the left margin. Displays wonderfully and presents a vibrant, rich color palette.
Maker Bio: Alex. Hönig (Lithographic Atelier, Berlin)
Operating in Berlin during the late 19th century, the Ateliers Alex. Hönig was a premier printing establishment specializing in vibrant, high-quality chromolithographs for European entertainment, circus acts, vaudeville performers, and theatrical troupes. Hönig's shop was celebrated for its sharp registration, rich color saturation, and elaborate decorative framing layouts that elevated commercial playbills into collectible works of graphic art.
Historic Information & Interesting Facts
The Victorian Roller Skating Craze: Roller skating experienced a massive international boom in the late 1860s and 1870s following improvements to quad roller skates (often called "rink skates"). Performers quickly integrated roller skating into variety shows, circuses, and music halls, dazzling audiences with high-speed acrobatics and difficult balance routines on wooden and asphalt floors.
Circus Ephemera & Lithography: Before modern photography dominated advertising, colorful stone lithography was the primary medium used to draw crowds to traveling spectacles. Surviving posters from European printing houses like Hönig are exceptionally scarce today because they were pasted directly onto outdoor walls, kiosks, and billboards, making high-grade surviving copies highly sought after by collectors of circus and magic ephemera.
