{"product_id":"cycles-omnium-valenk-cycling-1900s","title":"Cycles Omnium c.1900 | Valenk Cycling Poster","description":"\u003cp\u003eA broad-grinning peasant woman in wooden clogs and blue-striped trousers rides a black bicycle flat-out along a rural road, a basket of squealing piglet roped to the handlebars. White geese erupt in all directions, one fills the centre with wings spread wide, a child on a galloping horse recedes into the distance, and wildflowers in red, blue, and yellow line the verge. The large navy letterforms of 'Cycles Omnium' anchor the lower left; the letter O is the bicycle's front wheel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDesigned by Charles Valenk and printed by Affiches Gaillard, Paris, around 1900, this vintage cycling poster sits in the energetic tradition of French Belle Époque bicycle advertising. Cycles Omnium took its name from the omnium race format, an arena endurance event popular in French velodromes, and deployed caricatural rural comedy to argue that a machine built for competition was equally reliable for daily use, at a moment when the bicycle was beginning to feel competition from the automobile.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eValenk's lithograph is rendered in the warm, expressive caricature style characteristic of French commercial illustration at the turn of the century: bold silhouettes, saturated yellow-ochre grounds, and hand-lettered display type integrated into the scene. The Affiches Gaillard imprint in the left margin identifies the Paris printing house responsible for a significant body of period commercial poster work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eReproduced here as a giclée print on 200gsm Enhanced Matte Fine Art Paper, this design holds its original warm palette and dense comic energy. It resonates with those who follow Belle Époque French commercial art, cycling history, or the broader graphic design of the pre-war period.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vintage Poster Archives","offers":[{"title":"A4","offer_id":64237396066681,"sku":"VPA-13521-A4","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3","offer_id":64237396099449,"sku":"VPA-13521-A3","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A2","offer_id":64237396132217,"sku":"VPA-13521-A2","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"50x70cm","offer_id":64237396164985,"sku":"VPA-13521-50x70cm","price":39.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A1","offer_id":64237396197753,"sku":"VPA-13521-A1","price":44.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"70x100cm","offer_id":64237396230521,"sku":"VPA-13521-70x100cm","price":59.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"A0","offer_id":64237396263289,"sku":"VPA-13521-A0","price":69.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0994\/1139\/4937\/files\/Sport-Cycling-CyclesOmnium-CyclistWithGeese-1900s.jpg?v=1786629832","url":"https:\/\/vintageposterarchives.com\/products\/cycles-omnium-valenk-cycling-1900s","provider":"Vintage Poster Archives","version":"1.0","type":"link"}