Perfume ad poster 1890s | Louis John Rhead

Introduce an atmosphere of Gilded Age sophistication, vibrant floral romance, and iconic commercial heritage to your space with this premium fine art giclée reproduction of Louis John Rhead’s legendary advertising poster, Try Vio-Violet: A New Lundborg Perfume. Originally illustrated in 1895 during the absolute height of the historic "Poster Craze" in New York and Paris, this mesmerizing graphic artwork stands as a monumental landmark in American Art Nouveau history. Rhead—hailed alongside Will Bradley as a founding father of modern American poster design—shattered the dry, typographic advertising standards of the 19th century. Instead, he introduced bold color blocking, stylized organic contours, and idealized feminine beauty to elevate everyday commerce into high gallery art.

The composition is a brilliant triumph of balanced negative space, intricate surface patterns, and high-contrast color theory. Set within a beautiful, interlocking rope-twist border, an elegant, classic Art Nouveau maiden is captured in profile facing left. Her voluminous, flowing blonde hair is beautifully adorned with a crown of fresh violets, cascading gently past her shoulders. Extending her arm gracefully into a field of solid, brilliant zinc yellow, she releases a delicate, swirling shower of deep purple violet blossoms from her palm. The botanical theme repeats spectacularly across her elaborate attire: her voluminous, sweeping cloak is cast in a rich royal purple accented with dainty white violet silhouettes, while her layered dress panels feature intricate, hand-drawn floral matrices in yellow, white, and violet tones.

The print acts as a masterclass in early commercial graphic layout, featuring Rhead’s iconic, hand-drawn typography seamlessly integrated into the structural design. The upper text boldly commands the viewer to "TRY VIO-VIOLET A NEW," while the substantial base frame cleanly features the legendary manufacturer branding, "LUNDBORG PERFUME." Adding an invaluable layer of historic authenticity for collectors, Rhead has cleanly integrated his block-letter signature, "LOUIS RHEAD," directly into the lower left corner of the yellow dress trim. It remains an extraordinarily chic, eye-catching piece that perfectly balances late-Victorian decorative luxury with the clean, graphic lines of pre-war modernism.

The Artist: Louis John Rhead (1857–1926)

Born into a legendary family of English pottery artists, Louis John Rhead emigrated to New York in 1883 to serve as the art director for publishing house D. Appleton & Company. Embracing the radical French poster revolution led by Jules Chéret and Alphonse Mucha, Rhead developed a highly personal, immensely influential style characterized by crisp outlines, vibrant flat color planes, and beautiful, organic decorative motifs. His award-winning advertising posters for major periodicals like The Century, Harper's Magazine, and luxury cosmetic brands won him international acclaim, culminating in a historic solo exhibition in Paris in 1897 that permanently cemented his legacy as a global master of the Art Nouveau movement.

Interior Decoration Theme Recommendation

Theme: Elegant Art Nouveau Powder Room / Vintage Dressing Room Boudoir / Vibrant Botanical Living Room

This richly saturated, highly decorative cosmetics poster serves as an exceptional design anchor for spaces styled around glamorous vanity nooks, eclectic half-baths, or sun-drenched sunrooms that celebrate feminine elegance, bold retro color, and historic typography.

• How to Style It: Feature this vertical statement print prominently at eye-level in intimate, transitional, or high-traffic conversational spaces. It looks absolutely spectacular centered directly over a bathroom vanity, hanging adjacent to an antique dressing table mirror, or grounding a colorful gallery wall layout. Frame it against walls painted in a soft lavender, deep plum, charcoal grey, or a crisp, gallery-style alabaster white to allow the fiery yellow background and deep purple cloak to dramatically burst off the wall.

• Framing Advice: To honor its authentic 1890s poster heritage and emphasize the graphic rope-twist border, frame this piece without a matboard to let the clean outer paper margin run directly to the edge. Enclose it in a thin, sleek custom matte black wooden frame or a substantial ornate gold leaf frame to echo the Gilded Age luxury of original turn-of-the-century department store displays.

• Perfect Companion Pieces: Create a highly curated, uniquely stylish gallery wall exploring early 20th-century commercial art and floral design by pairing this print with sister pieces from our collection. It sits in flawless stylistic harmony alongside the flowing, organic lines and warm tones of Edwin Blashfield’s celestial allegory Spring Scattering Stars, or forms a marvelous historic visual dialogue when hung adjacent to the sharp, energetic horse racing graphics of Sem’s Cinzano Tout Seul!.

Premium Craftsmanship & Features

• Museum-Grade Giclée: We employ state-of-the-art archival pigment inks to flawlessly lock in the ultra-saturated lemon-yellow background, the dense royal purples, and the intricate botanical linework, ensuring your vintage advertising print remains perfectly sharp, vibrant, and fade-resistant for decades.

• Archival Fine Art Paper: Printed on premium heavy-weight 200gsm, acid-free matte paper, creating a smooth, glare-free velvet surface that beautifully replicates the organic weight, tooth, and subtle patina of original 1890s lithographic advertising poster stock.

• Complete Design Fidelity: Every print is calibrated with rigorous precision to safeguard the genuine vertical layout, the historic geometric frame borders, and the complete, uncropped artist signature and commercial typography exactly as Louis Rhead drafted it.

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