A preliminary sketch (or maquette) in ink, pastel and watercolour for one of the most famous of all absinthe
posters, Absinthe Blanqui's smiling redhead, printed sometime between 1898 and 1901. The printer was L.Revon et Cie,
situated in Paris at 93 Rue Oberkampf. The artist's signature "Nover" is a mystery - no designer by that name
is recorded. Since however the word is a palindrome of Revon, the assumption must be that the artist was Revon
himself, or alternatively an anonymous employee of the firm. The same artist was responsible for the well-known
Absinthe Vichet poster, also printed by Revon et Cie.
The maquette has the girl in profile, gazing upwards at the glass of absinthe. She is facing left rather than
right as in the poster, but her green dress, the sinuous green ribbons surrounding her and the serpent clasp
around her arm are all echoed in the final version. The position of the girl's head and the design of her hair in
this sketch are reminiscent of Privat-Livemont's 1896 poster for Absinthe Robette, and it is possible that this
was modified in the final version specifically so that the Blanqui poster did not too closely resemble
Privat-Livemont's design.
