Model Of The Sales Calendar For The Department Stores On Place Clichy (paris). [c. 1875–1900].

Original drawing. Pencil, India ink, black gouache, gold gouache, and gray wash. 22.3 x 29.7 cm. Signed in the lower left corner of the central vignette (“E. Jochum”), depicting a lively view of the square centered on the monument to Marshal Moncey commemorating the Defense of Paris in 1814 (monument erected in 1869).

In the upper corners, two illustrated vignettes with captions: “Barrière Clichy 1814” and “Place Clichy 1871.” Title in a cartouche at the top center: “At Place Clichy, New Arrivals, 99 & 101, rue d’Amsterdam.” Inscriptions in the cartouches at the lower corners: “Unparalleled low prices—half the cost of those in central Paris” and “Our principle and privilege: to sell at lower prices than the largest stores in the city center .” These slogans illustrate the commercial strategy of the outlying department stores in competition with the establishments in the Haussmannian city center.

Pencil inscription beneath the drawing: “Remove the fleurs-de-lis & Continue the gilding of the frame along its entire length using the”; and in the upper right corner: “Test sketch.”

The department stores on Place Clichy, often referred to simply as “À la Place Clichy,” were founded in 1877. A famous advertising poster by Eugène Grasset describes the store as “The world’s leading retailer of Oriental imports.”

Ref. A14-85