Phono Cinema Theater Paris Expo Poster

Jul 24
2 min read

Before "Talkies": The 1900 Paris Exposition & The Birth of Synchronized Sound

When most cinema enthusiasts think about the transition from silent film to synchronized sound, 1927’s The Jazz Singer is usually the first milestone that comes to mind. But nearly three decades before Hollywood transformed the film industry with commercial sound-on-film, a group of Parisian inventors and artists achieved the unthinkable at the turn of the century.

At the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, audiences stepped into a specialized pavilion known as the Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre and witnessed something truly magical: moving images of famous actors, opera singers, and dancers, accompanied by synchronized recorded audio.

Featured in The Allen Koenigsberg Phonograph Collection, Lot 3229 offers collectors and historians a rare, monumental window into this pivotal moment in media history: an original, grand-format French promotional poster advertising the groundbreaking pavilion.

Engineering the Future of Entertainment

In 1900, synchronizing moving pictures with recorded audio was a daunting technical challenge. The Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre relied on two pioneering minds to bring "living visions" to life:

Clément-Maurice (Clément-Maurice Gratioulet): A French photographer and cinematographer who captured stage performances using a Cinépar 35mm camera.
Henri Lioret: An audio pioneer who developed the "Idéal" (Lioretographe) system, using large concert wax cylinders capable of recording up to four minutes of high-volume audio.

During public screenings, a hand-cranked projector operator tried to keep pace with the playback speed of the wax cylinder phonograph using telephone earpieces to monitor sound alignment. While far from automatic, it delivered the world’s very first public demonstrations of famous theatrical performances paired with authentic recorded sound.

A Monumental Artwork (Literally)

The poster featured in Lot 3229 was illustrated by renowned French artist François Flameng and printed by the famed print house Affiches Camis in Paris.

Prominently highlighting Mme Réjane—one of the most celebrated French stage actresses of the Belle Époque—alongside eighteen other leading performers, the poster captures the elegance, glamour, and optimism of early 20th-century French theater.

What makes this piece truly spectacular is its sheer presence. Measuring approximately 50 inches wide by nearly 8 feet tall (with a protective UV plexiglass frame measuring 55” x 102”), it stands as a massive, museum-grade centerpiece of Art Nouveau graphic design and early cinematic history.

Conserved for Generations to Come

Over a century after its creation, this historical poster remains in very good conserved condition. Passed down through the prestigious Allen Koenigsberg Collection, it represents one of the finest surviving original artifacts from the short-lived 1900 pavilion.

Whether you are a serious collector of early phonograph technology, a silent film historian, or an enthusiast of classic French poster design, Lot 3229 represents a truly unique bridge between visual and audio history.