Leslie Carter | c.1908 | Six Color Stone Lithograph | 83" × 31"
Publisher: Strobridge Litho. Co., Cincinnati and New York
Mucha used the tall life-sized format and style of his Bernhardt posters in this design for the American silent film and stage actress, Mrs Leslie Carter. The actress, Caroline Louise Dudley, oft referred to as the American Sarah Bernhardt, used her married name of Mrs. Leslie Carter as her stage name out of spite following her divorce from the Chicago millionaire Mr. Leslie Carter.
The poster was created for her play, Kassa, which tells the tale of a Hungarian virgin who intends to join a convent when she is seduced by a prince and falls pregnant. The prince abandons her and she loses her mind. Mucha portrays the stunned Kassa surrounded by symbols: lilies to symbolize her former purity; red hearts to symbolize love and wreaths of thorns to symbolize suffering.
Leslie Carter was an extravagant woman and aspiring actress whose incredible success was largely attributed to her charms and the shrewd way in which she applied them to her pursuits. Both Mucha and the author of the play (a commercial disappointment, despite the wonderful poster) were both so taken with her that they completed their work without compensation.
For this poster, one of the few that Mucha designed while living in America from 1904-1912, and the largest of his American posters, the artist is clearly hearkening back to poster designs for Sarah Bernhardt from early on in his career, as the tall, thin format of the poster, the drape of the gown, the halo behind the actress’ head and the crown of flowers are all reminiscent of his work in the late 1890s.
About Strobridge: The same publisher/printer Mucha entrusted with his Sarah Bernhardt posters for her 1896 American Tour, was especially well-known for its production of circus and theatrical posters from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Strobridge was also known for large multiple-sheet poster designs, some over 16 sheets! Usually this style of advertising poster only needed to last a few weeks, however Strobridge used a heavyweight paper supplied by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company that withstood the battering of sun and rain much better. Strobridge was constantly upgrading and updating their printing equipment to the most recent technologies available at the time, including steam powered presses. They also used unique identification numbers that were used in their accounting, copywriting and shipping of every work they printed. (Top Right Corner of this example.)
