Motocycles Comiot, 1899 - Pioneer French Motorcycle Advertising

In the closing years of the nineteenth century, a new era of personal transport was taking shape on the streets of Paris. Comiot, a French manufacturer already celebrated for its bicycles, turned its engineering ambitions toward the motorized two-wheeler — and this vivid advertising poster from 1899 announced that leap to the world.

Who was Comiot? Founded in Paris in the 1890s, Comiot was one of France's pioneering bicycle and motorcycle manufacturers, riding the wave of mechanical innovation that swept Europe at the turn of the century. The company earned an extraordinary place in history when Alberto Santos-Dumont — the celebrated Brazilian-French aviation pioneer and darling of Parisian society — became closely associated with the brand. Santos-Dumont, who famously circled the Eiffel Tower in his airship in 1901, used a Comiot motorcycle to zip through the streets of Paris, and the two collaborated on early motorized experiments. Comiot's machines were thus linked to two of the greatest technological revolutions of the age: the motorcycle and the flying machine.

The Motocycles Comiot poster is a quintessential example of Belle Époque graphic art, a period when French commercial illustration reached its artistic peak. Bold colors, elegant typography, and a sense of forward momentum make this one of the most dynamic transportation posters of its era. It captures the excitement of a society falling in love with speed, modernity, and mechanical ingenuity.

Comiot was part of a wave of French bicycle and motorcycle manufacturers — alongside names like Gladiator, La Française, and Liberator — who transformed urban mobility between 1890 and 1910. Their posters, commissioned from leading artists of the day, became some of the most collectible images of the Art Nouveau movement.

Giclee reproductions on luster premium photo paper.