Advertising poster winter fashion 1882-1883 – Au Bon Marché Brussels

ADVERTISING POSTER – WINTER FASHION FOR THE DUTCH MARKET, 1882–1883

“Au Bon Marché. Hiver 1882–1883”, wood engraving printed in Brussels by Adolphe Mertens in 1882. Size 89.5 × 65.8 cm.

This poster was made specifically to entice Dutch customers to shop at Au Bon Marché in Brussels. At the top centre, the Brussels Au Bon Marché is shown on the corner of Rue Neuve and Rue de la Blanchisserie, where the department store had by then expanded into several adjoining buildings. On either side, branches of the same company in Lille and Charleroi are advertised. The Brussels Au Bon Marché was founded in 1845 as a “magasin de nouveautés” by the Thiéry family and was greatly expanded from 1866 onwards by François Vaxelaire and Jeanne Claes. Over the following decades, it developed into one of Belgium’s leading department stores.

In three scenes arranged one above the other, the poster presents the winter collection of 1882–1883. At the top, children in coats, suits and overcoats are posed on a grand flight of steps. Below are two groups of elegantly dressed women and men. The women wear close-fitting dresses, richly draped skirts, coats and hats decorated with feathers and ribbons; the men appear in overcoats, redingotes and formal suits. The illustrations also function as a catalogue: every garment is numbered and accompanied by a description and price in Dutch: “All our prices are calculated in Dutch currency.”

The most expensive garment is No. 27 — the first figure in the second row — described as an “Elegant Costume in faille duchesse (a rich, ribbed silk dress fabric), the drapery in brocaded velvet (i.e. with woven-in decorative motifs), the skirt trimmed with plain velvet,” priced at 135 guilders (roughly €1,930 in today’s money).

Orders of more than ten guilders were delivered throughout the Netherlands carriage- and duty-paid to the customer’s home. The department store thus covered both transport costs and import duties. In addition, customers placing such an order received a one-year subscription to the illustrated fashion magazine “La Mode Bijou,” which appeared twice a month. Au Bon Marché began publishing this house fashion magazine for its clientele in 1882.

Price: Euro 375,-