A wonderful and extremely rare original poster that advertised the Zephyr soaps and cream brand of the Zurich-based company Friedrich Steinfels AG in the (probably) mid-1930s. The depiction of the swallowtail – symbolizing the natural lightness and elegant suppleness of the products – is simply magnificent.
However, those responsible took less care with the text, as "Crème" was printed with a Circonflexe accent instead of the Grave accent... 😏

The poster is sometimes attributed to Niklaus Stoecklin from Basel, but this is highly doubtful, especially as there is no signature or monogram; a master of Stoecklin’s caliber would never have allowed this.

No matter if you're a collector of Original (Swiss) Posters or Art Déco items, if you like butterflys or if you're looking for a statement and eye-catching piece to decorate your place: This one fits in each of these categories.

Swiss Original Vintage Poster, 128x90 cm, lithograph, printed around 1935 in Zurich, A condition – on hold till 12 June.

#placart #originalposter #swissposter #originalvintage ...

A precious and scarce original poster from 1927, the heyday of Art Deco, issued by the Swiss Federal Railways to advertise the revived Gotthard Express, which began running between Basel (or Zurich) and Milan in September 1927.
The cause was the success of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, founded by Belgian Georges Nagelmackers (who was inspired by US pioneer George Pullman) that, in cooperation with the respective state railroads, connected major European cities with its lavish sleeping, salon and restaurant carriages – the epitome of not only luxurious but also fast travel at the time.
The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) did not want to stand on the sidelines; on the one hand for reasons of prestige, on the other to prevent the upper classes from opting for the increasingly popular car. By 1931, however, the global economic crisis had already put an end to the "Swiss Pullman".
Just how important it was to SBB to attract the sophisticated, affluent clientele is reflected in the motif: Unlike almost all Swiss train posters, there is no scenic beauty to be seen – it is all about elegance and opulence, savoir vivre and being among oneself. Which brings us to the author: Although the motif is not signed and no single source attributes it to a specific artist, the appealingly elegant style speaks for William Spencer Bagdatopoulos (1888 – 1965), who was born in Greece, grew up there and in the Netherlands and worked mainly in England from 1908 onwards: He designed at least two other posters for Pullman trains, printed in 1927 as well – one of which is also unsigned.

No matter if you're a collector of Original (Swiss) Travel Posters, Art Déco items or Railway Memorabilia or if you're looking for a statement piece to decorate your place: This one fits in each of these categories. Scarce and pricey.

Swiss Original Vintage Poster, 100x63,5 cm, lithograph and intaglio (I think – even more difficult to determine than usual), printed 1927 in Zurich, A condition, available online and in the gallery

#placart #originalposter #travelposter #swissposter ...

Isn’t that a butterfly? Or is it a bird? To draw attention to an exhibition of posters from the collection of the Gewerbemuseum Basel? And then by Armin Hofmann (1920 – 2020)? Who is generally associated more with the rational "Swiss style" than with emotion or poetry?

Even if the master from Basel – who also influenced generations of graphic designers in Switzerland and abroad as an educator – relied in his designs on radical reduction as well as clarity of form and color, he was not dogmatic (something that could rather be said of the representatives of the "Zurich School", who followed in the tradition of the Constructivists or Concretists). And so some of Hofmann’s posters certainly allow for a symbolic interpretation, if they do not even require it.

In this case, however, the winged creature – assuming only that it is one! – is and remains a pictorial puzzle, even with knowledge of the text and thus the occasion, and even if one interprets the two blobs in the top right-hand corner as eyes. But the fact that questions remain unanswered need not be a bad thing in the case of a poster advertising a cultural event (whereas the client of a poster promoting a specific product shuns ambiguity like the devil shuns holy water). After all, the poster was sure to attract attention – by far the most important currency in advertising – simply by limiting itself to the signal color red, which undoubtedly stood out in the greyish cityscape.

Either way, we are not aware of a second copy having ever appeared on the market – probably because the print run was very small, as the posters were only intended for local display (the address of the Basler Gewerbemuseum is not even listed). So: A scarce original poster by Armin Hofmann at its best.

And last, but not least: Any interpretation of the motif is very welcome as I'm sure there are some Hofmann admirers out there who have thought about this special design, right...?

Swiss Original Vintage Poster, 128x90,5 cm, linocut, printed in 1961, A condition, available online and in the gallery

#placart #originalposter #arminhofmann #graphicdesign ...

A DC-3 roars past the Grossmünster and the Münsterbrücke over the Limmat: To our knowledge, this is the only Original Swissair Poster with a clear reference to Zurich – designed by Theodor "Teddy" Brunner and signed accordingly in the top right-hand corner; we therefore assume that he created it before founding his agency Studio Selecta in 1937 or 1938. Otherwise he would probably have chosen the agency's name – as in the case of his other Swissair posters (available as well on placart.ch).

A sheet that is not only extremely rare, but also in excellent condition. We may one day even be able to explain why it was printed in Lugano of all places. And finally: despite its width of just 60,5 cm, the sheet has not been trimmed.

No matter if you're a collector of Original (Swiss) Vintage Posters, Interwar Posters or Aviation Memorabilia or if you're looking for a statement piece to decorate your place: This one fits in each of these categories. Scarce and pricey.

Swiss Original Vintage Poster, 102x60,5 cm, lithograph, printed rather in 1937 than in 1938, A condition, available online and in the gallery

#placart #originalposter #swissair #visitzurich ...

Original Vintage Poster by the commercial artist and exhibition designer Georges Calame (1930 – 1999) who started in Geneva in 1953 and was committed to the principles of the Swiss Style from the very beginning: precise and minimalistic designs without losing sight of the balance of the composition. 15 of his posters were among the "Best Posters of the Year", a prize awarded by the Swiss Confederation – making him one of the very few from French-speaking Switzerland to be regularly among the winners.

The Geneva furniture store Tagliabue (founded in the mid-1950s and taken over by Teo Jakob in 1999) was something like the Wohnbedarf of French-speaking Switzerland and a client of Calame for over 30 years. What is remarkable about this poster advertising Eero Saarinen's Tulip Chair, produced by Knoll International, is the white armchair on the right, which (although not moved out of symmetry) slightly obscures the red one due to their width; a position that almost hurts the eye – which makes the motif or the product respectively all the more memorable.

Swiss Original Vintage Poster, 128x90,5 cm, offset, printed in 1968, A- condition, available online and in the gallery

#placart #originalposter #saarinen #knoll ...

Zug and cherries: This affinity – some say obsession – is on record as soon as around 1350. Accordingly, Peikert (born in Zug in 1901) grew up with blossoming cherry trees, juicy cherries, the Zug cherry tart and, sooner rather than later, certainly with the aromatic cherry brandy. When he then was commissioned by the local tourist office to promote the region, he had little choice: it had to be cherries. The result may not be a typical Peikert in terms of the choice of motif, but it certainly has the right look and feel: it simply puts you in a good mood.

In the meantime, the cherry tart is not only regarded as Switzerland’s culinary heritage – even cherry growing in the canton itself is part of the "Living Traditions of Switzerland" as part of the intangible Unesco cultural heritage.

Swiss Original Vintage Travel Poster, 102x64 cm, lithograph, printed in 1939, A condition, available online and in the gallery

#placart #zugerland #originalposter #peikert ...