Les Cycles "Michaux" Seulement (after Georges Blott)

Christophe Adrien (Count) Regley de Koenigsegg

Count Christophe Adrien Regley de Koenigsegg was born in Paris on April 12, 1823 to Nicolas and Civilus Victoire Tondu Lebrun Regley. He began a military career in the French navy in 1839 and retired as a Brigadier General in 1871. In December of 1855 he married Laure Fanny de Koenigsegg, daughter of Count Louis Koenigsegg and Countess Francoise de Sponeck and added their surname to his.

Koenigsegg had done drawing and some printmaking in the early 1850's but, after his retirement in 1885, began this series of miniature paintings in ink and watercolor. They are miniaturized versions of late 19th century French posters. Many are by identifiable poster artists of the time (Cheret, Lautrec, Rhead, etc.) but many others were posters, done as advertising for regional products; travel agencies, spas, bicycle manufacturers, beverages, etc. and, in many cases, may be the only documentation of these designs.

The watercolors, which are not signed, are meticulously detailed, often requiring a single hair brush. They are painted on a fine wove paper and tipped on to a coarse, somewhat acidic support paper on which he has often written the name of the original poster artist (i.e.: d'Apres Geo. Blott) in ink. The original group constituted over 400 images, bound into a number of linen notebooks, which had not been exposed to light and have retained their vibrant colors.

This miniature watercolor by Regely de Koenigsegg was painted by him in 1897 after the large 1896 lithographic poster by Georges Blott (active 19th-20th centuries), which measured approximately 45 x 31".

In 1865 the Olivier Brothers, after pedaling 500 miles from Paris to Marsailles, bought into the Michaux & Cie company which was producing velocipedes, the term coined around 1817 to refer to human-powered land vehicles with one or more wheels. The Oliviers bought the company fully in 1869 and began mass production of their velocipede, manufacturing some 200 bikes per month. The company existed between 1861 and 1897.

The company's velocipedes were originally called "bone crushers" before they added ball bearings and metal wheels with spokes, helping to change the physical structure of the modern bicycle.

This image is of a group of cyclists at the starting line of a race, preparing to take off when the very official paddle drops. The original poster was done as advertising for Michaux Cycles, it reads 'Les Cycles "Micheaux" seulement!', loosely translating to "Only Micheaux cycles!". The poster was created a year before they closed.