Michelin Man Nunc Est Bibendum To Your Health

Original antique advertising poster - Nunc est Bibendum Le Pneu Michelin Boit l'Obstacle / Now is the time to drink The Michelin Tyre Drinks the Obstacle - featuring a great illustration of the trademark Bibendum figure made from tyres holding a smoking cigar in one hand and holding up a champagne glass of sharp objects, a horse shoe with broken nails and other debris from the road to make a toast with the words in red - A Votre Sante / To Your Health - on the dinner table, two bedraggled figures representing inferior tyre companies marked Pneu X (Tire X) by his sides and the tablecloth cluttered with various mechanical tools including nuts and bolts, a Michelin pump and a can of Mastic Michelin tyre sealant all arranged to look like cutlery and tableware, the phrase from the Odes of Horace - Nunc est Bibendum - in yellow on the blue background above and the rest of the text below. The French cartoonist Marius Rossillon (known as O'Galop; 1867-1946) created the iconic Bibendum / Michelin Man character in 1898 and produced posters for the French tire company Michelin (founded 1889) from 1898-1911. The Latin phrase meaning "Now is the time for drinking" is associated with the celebrations of a victory and was featured in the first Michelin advertising campaign, giving the Michelin Man his name Bibendum. Printed by Cornille and Serre Paris. Large size. Good condition, restored tears, restored paper losses, restored folds, creasing, staining, backed on linen.