French Gladiator Bicycles 0000-0263

Started in 1891 by Alexandre Darracq, Gladiator was one of the dozens of bicycle companies that made their way into the market when the cycling craze boomed. As was the case with most of them, economic realities soon hit. In 1896, Gladiator merged with Clement and Humber. The combined British-financed company kept all three names going for a time. This poster, done shortly before the merger, is without question one of the most sensational designs for a bicycle ever created-yet the artist hid his name. Even Alexandre Henriot, the great collector who organized the huge 1896 poster show at Reims, was unable to credit him. Many of Gladiators posters proclaimed the bike to be Sans Egale-without equal. The same can be said when comparing this design to the thousands of other bicycle posters of the period. It is truly Sans egale.

Giclée Art Prints are printed on museum-quality art paper.

Our modern black wood frames are handmade in the USA and feature acrylic glazing and quality matboard.

All of our images are digitized from the original artwork or original negative, then printed and assembled in the USA to museum standards by our master printer.

All of our products are custom made by hand to order. Approximately 2 weeks to make + 1 week to deliver.

Questions? Please email service@archivea.com.