Morning Journal (Primary Title)
Louis John Rhead, American, born England, 1857 - 1926 (Artist)
Raised in Great Britain, Rhead studied at the South Kensington Art School and later in Paris. During his time as a student, he designed book jackets and posters for Cassell’s Magazine before arriving in New York, where he worked as an illustrator for the D. Appleton Company. In 1891 he returned to London and then Paris, where he discovered the distinguished illustrations created by French artist Eugène Grasset. Rhead’s work was influenced by Grasset’s use of color, broad outlines, and his emphasis on close-ups of figures.
Rhead’s posters were actively collected by connoisseurs and the public. During the mid 1890s, around twenty thousand copies of his posters were printed. Before the start of the 20th century, Rhead designed at least one hundred posters for magazines, books, and newspapers, and for products such as Lundborg perfumes, Pearline washing powders and cleansers, and Packer’s soap.
Jean Louis Sponsel, Das Moderne Plakat, 1897
The Studio, 1896, Vol. 8
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