19 - René Gaillard (19th–20th centuries) – Cocaine. 1926. 158 x 118 cm. Original poster, lithographic print, mounted on canvas. Condition A-, two small defects in the mounting at the top.

René Gaillard (19th–20th centuries) – Cocaine. 1926. 158 x 118 cm. Original poster, lithographic print, mounted on canvas. Condition A-, two small defects in the mounting at the top. Here we present a very rare theater poster that addresses an uncommon theme: drugs. Nothing in this image is trivial—neither the physical ravages caused by its use nor the places where it was distributed. The Sacré-Cœur is clearly visible, and at the foot of the hill stands the Moulin Rouge. Between the two, is this a reference to cocaine—then known as the “Queen of Horror”—personified by this green, macabre monster? Or is it a stylized depiction of absinthe, the “Green Fairy,” furious that a new addiction is encroaching on its territory? We can tell that this is indeed an Art Deco poster thanks to the main character’s “à la garçonne” hairstyle and the style borrowed from Paul Colin’s work on the posters for Josephine Baker’s Revue Nègre, which is used to depict the musicians. One might even see an expressionist aspect in the treatment of the subject. During the Roaring Twenties, cocaine spread like wildfire through the still-festive Montmartre. Having made its way from the working class to the bourgeoisie, in cabarets and jazz clubs, “la coco,” as it was called back then, was everywhere. Even among florists, who offered bouquets of violets “à la neige,” and oyster vendors who hid a small packet in a shell, from Place de Clichy all the way to Barbès. It’s amusing to note that this area is still the drug hub of Paris, albeit without the sophistication and joie de vivre. This play was written by Louis le Gouriadec (known as Paul Gury), a native of Brittany, with Mars Biso in the lead role. It was performed in Paris—most likely at the Théâtre de l’Oeuvre—and in Brussels. It is likely that the author drew inspiration from the book *L’Armée du crime* by Marcel Nadaud and André Fage (published by Anquetil, 1926), which devotes several chapters to the issue of this substance in Paris.