PKZ (the legendary «Güggel»)

Founded in Winterthur in 1881 as a clothing factory by Paul Kehl, the company held annual poster competitions among specially invited artists from 1910 until the 1950s, with the award-winning designs then being displayed across Switzerland. PKZ had recognized two things early on: that it pays to create a strong brand (at a time when the term «brand» hardly existed in that sense), and that carefully designed posters are the ideal means to achieve this goal.

In 1935, the winner was Alois Carigiet (1902–1985), a trained decorative painter who remained true to his choice of motifs and, above all, his almost always exceptionally painterly execution. Back in the 1930s, when illustration had a difficult time in Swiss product advertising, he could only afford to do this because his approach was as unmistakable as a handwriting (which is, after all, the gold standard for any advertising measure).

The fact that his strutting cockerel was actually put into production is a clear testament to PKZ's confident self-mockery. For even if it may seem charming and even elegant, and displays an evocative joy of storytelling: a cockerel is a cockerel. This is surely one of the reasons why this PKZ print is exceptionally popular and correspondingly sought after, both by collectors and by those wishing to give their rooms an unmistakable touch. Rare, especially in this outstanding condition.

perhaps also of interest – Otto Baumberger's anticipation of magical realism:
PKZ Brand