Au Grand Garage du Cirque Médrano (after Grün)

Christophe Adrien (Count) Regley de Koenigsegg

After the 1899 poster by Jules-Alexandre Grun for the Grand Garage of Montmartre's Cirque Medrano. During the Belle Epoque, automobiles were still relatively new but had rapidly become signifiers of social standing. In Paris, especially, the automobile was a major player in commerical economy, as it was host to the first showroom open to the public (Panhard and Levassor, 1891). Garages were considered "hotels for automobile," and were a type of architecture unto themselves, meant to house a stable of the luxurious machines as their owners enjoyed the cultural offerings of major cities throughout France and beyond.

Additionally, this poster also hinted at the then-scandalous idea of women in the automobile world. Essentially considered toys for wealthy men, cars and motorcycles driven by women took on an air of progressive, youthful change, albeit one still shrouded in novelty. The subtitle of the poster reads "My motorcycle is at Lucien Adenot's place," Adenot being the owner of the Grand Garage.