This is from a portfolio of 10 plates, entitled Blanc et Rouge (White and Red), which was commissioned in 1930 by the French wine merchant Nicolas. Paul Iribe created the images in a sophisticated and often playful style that captured the essence of the Jazz Age. Iribe made his fame by creating the first Art Deco fashion illustrations for Paul Poiret’s revolutionary 1908 collection, the first to eliminate the corset. The illustrations were as revolutionary as the clothing. Rather than draw highly technical, realistic illustrations as was the fashion, Iribe drew in a linear style which simplified and elongated his models. He used unshaded blocks of color, empty backgrounds reminiscent of Japanese woodblock prints, and creative groupings of figures. Iribe’s portfolio revived the medieval technique of pochoir, or stencil, printing process. This technique allowed highly skilled artisans to hand color each illustration using as many as 30 stencils to achieve a freshness approaching an original watercolor. Pochoir would be continued throughout the Twenties and into the Thirties for many handmade portfolios that became common in the period. This portfolio features hand coloring in black and white, giving the prints a feeling of warmth and richness. The Nicolas portfolio is considered a jewel of Art Deco style. Printed in an edition of 500, it is difficult to find.