Rodolph Salis established the Chat Noir (The Black Cat) as an artistic cabaret in Montmartre in 1881, and it soon became a popular gathering place for Montmartre's rising artists and writers. Beginning in 1892, Salis organized a company of performers from the cabaret to go on tour during the summer months. This large poster by Théophile Steinlen, one of the important artists whose career was launched at the Chat Noir, would have served as a kind of "coming attractions" announcement to be posted outside the venues hosting the tour.