Victoria Fahrrad Werke - Vintage Bicycle Poster
A Beautiful illustration by Fritz Rehm
 
There is little known about the life Fritz Rehm. He was German, born in 1871 and died 1928. We know that he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich in April 1890 and was taught by sculptor Syrius Eberle. In 1896 he produced one of his first and most famous posters, “Cigaretten Laferme, Dresden”, printed in Leipzig. In 1898 he was one of the few German designers Jules Cheret selected for his magazine “Les Maitres de l'Affiche” (1895-1900).
 
Fritz Rehm was a painter, illustrator, poster designer and associated with Jugendstil. The term "Jugendstil" (in German "Youth Style") refers to a German art movement that emerged during the mid-1890s and continued until the First World War. It received its name from the Munich periodical Die Jugend, which focused on a design style known as Art Nouveau, which was then the most fashionable.
 
The Company: Victoria was a bicycle manufacturer in Nurnberg, Germany that made motorcycles from about 1901 until 1966. Like most bicycle manufacturers, ‘Victoria Fahrradwerke AG’ became a famous motorcycle brand. Founders Max Frankenstein Burger and Max Ottenstein started their company ‘Frankenstein Burger and Ottenstein Nuremberg’ in Nuremberg, in 1886. By 1888 they had manufactured 1000 Victoria bicycles. In 1895 the name was changed to ‘Victoria Fahrradwerke AG,’ abbreviated to ‘Victoria Werke AG’.