Page:Picture Posters.djvu/379



is obviously impossible to state accurately the price of the artistic poster, insomuch as fluctuations take place almost daily, and, moreover, the numerous dealers vary in their quotations in an extraordinary degree. Under these circumstances, the present chapter is written as a matter of current record, rather than with the idea that it will be of any permanent value for purposes of reference. It may be stated at the outset, that in dealing with the value of the poster, rarity has in the first place to be taken into consideration; and thus it happens that, while delightfully artistic designs are comparatively inexpensive, posters which are quite unattractive from the point of view of art are often very costly. The prices which follow are for the most part taken from the catalogues of M. Edmond Sagot of Paris, and Mr. Bella of London, the latter of whom, by the organization of exhibitions and in other ways, has rendered