Lot 20: MAX SCHWARZER (1882-1955) REGINA-PALAS. Circa 1915.

48 1/2x36 1/4 inches. Markert & Son, Dresden.
Condition B: expertly restored losses and overpainting in image; repaired tears in margins and along vertical and horizontal folds affecting image.
Strangely enough, right after the outbreak of the First World War, Max Schwarzer designed a series of three luxuriously decadent posters for the restaurant Zur Stadt Wien, located near Munich's main train station. It was a period of suffering and restrictions when you would not expect to see such light, frivolous and gay images designed, let alone posted around a city! They were printed by Fritz Maison in Munich. This poster of an elegant, fashionable woman attending the 5 o'clock tea at the Regina Palas uses the same image that was used in the Munich printing, but it was printed by Markert & Son, in Dresden and features slightly different text. The most probable explanation for this variation is that Schwarzer sold his successful image to the Regina-Palas (who might even have been under the same ownership). Schwarzer was a member of "die 6," six graphic designers based in Munich (along with Franz Paul Glass, Fritz Huebner, Carl Moos, Walenty Zietara and Emil Preetorius), who combined forces to compete against Hohlwein's grasp on Munich's clients. This is the larger format. Kunst 31.