AUCTIONART – Advertising machines

On Thursday, March 12, one of the rarest and most important collections of advertising automata known to exist will be auctioned by AuctionArt Rémy Le Fur at Drouot. This collection was assembled over a period of twenty years by two enthusiasts for an exhibition dedicated to advertising automata at the National Museum of Monaco in 2008.

In the second half of the 19th century, numerous changes stimulated commercial activity in Paris. The concept of the department store emerged in 1852 with the expansion of Le Bon Marché, followed by the opening of Le Printemps in 1865 and La Samaritaine in 1970. These stores quickly became temples of consumerism and modernity.

Attracting passersby and turning them into customers became the main concern for these establishments. More appealing than posters, automatons provided a solution to this new need. Multiple animated scenes filled storefront windows, which became showcases. Initially displayed during the holidays— a tradition that continues today— automatons became advertising media in their own right. They eventually came to embody iconic characters in the collective imagination, capable of inspiring consumer confidence in a product.

Advertising automata enlivened everyday life with imagination and humor at a time when, between wars and recession, reality was particularly oppressive. Even the most mundane everyday objects, now consumer products, helped people escape reality by providing moments of escapism, pleasure, and comfort. Valda lozenges took us to faraway places by steamboat or car, Cadum soap turned bath time into playtime, and Passe-vite made cooking fun and enjoyable.

Public auction – Drouot – Room 9
Thursday, March 12 – 2 p.m.

Monday, March 9 – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10 – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11 – 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday, March 12 – 11 a.m. / 12 p.m.