Affiche Aiglon Vole, d’après B. Lancy circa 1927

H. 78cm, w.: 119cm wide. Canvas poster. Aiglon, a little known French brand, was born in 1902 in Argenteuil and died out in the mid 1950s. Quite famous before 1914, it was in the aftermath of the First World War that the financially strongest brands such as Peugeot, Alcyon or Terrot were obliged to buy up smaller brands with good reputations - such as Aiglon - in order to face up to the foreign manufacturers who were competing. Thus, Peugeot first absorbed Griffon in 1921, before buying Aiglon in 1922 and bringing this ageing brand up to date, but which had an already well-established network of agents. In 1922, the Aiglon brand became part of the "France Motor Cycles" (FMC) group, a subsidiary of Peugeot, alongside Griffon and Météore. Many cycles were then similar in every respect; only the commercial name differed, materialized by a different inscription on the tank. So the motorbike shown on this poster could evoke a new arrival at Aiglon in 1927: the A-505, a 350cc 3-speed tumbler, which the firm presented as "Nervous and Fast". In reality it was the new Peugeot model - the P105 - presented at the October show of the same year. The same motorbike was also distributed under a different name at Griffon, the G505. A commercial strategy of the Sochaux-based firm, which through its subsidiary France Motor Cycles sold its cycles through distributors and Aiglon agents already installed in France. It is easy to guess that this poster - from the art deco period - promoted the new Aiglon model, the A505, signed with a superb illustration by Bernard Lancy.