Original Poster, Leonetto Cappiello, I Only Smoke the Nile, Elephant, Animal, Rolling Paper, Leaf, Cigarettes, Smoker, Tobacco, Smoking, Orientalism, Art Nouveau, 1912

Artist: Leonetto Cappiello (1875 – 1942)
Title: I only smoke the Nile – Cigarette Paper – Joseph Bardou & Fils
Date: 1912
Dimensions (wxh): 160 x 120 cm
Printer: PRINTING ADVERTISING ESTABLISHMENTS VERCASSON & Cie, 43 rue de Lancry, RUE MARTEL PARIS
Materials and techniques: color lithograph on paper
Marouflage: yes
Condition: A (Denotes a poster in very good condition. The colors are fresh and there is little or no paper loss. If there are imperfections they are marginal and imperceptible.)
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Additional information:
Leonetto Cappiello (April 9, 1875 – February 2, 1942) was a renowned Italian artist, best known for his contributions to the art of advertising posters in the early 20th century. He is considered one of the pioneers of modern advertising and had a significant influence on the development of poster art as a means of visual communication.

His career as a poster artist began in 1900 and continued until the 1930s. He remained loyal to the Vercasson printing house until the early 1920s, continued with Imprimeries réunies and began, at the same time, to work regularly for the publisher Devambez, with whom he signed an exclusive contract from 1921 to 1936.

At the center of the composition, an elephant walks confidently, draped in a bright red fabric decorated with golden oriental motifs. The animal stands out vividly against a dark background of dark green, midnight blue, and carmine red, evoking a dreamlike or exotic landscape.

Although the slogan reads “I only smoke the Nile,” the Nile is actually not a cigarette, but a brand of cigarette rolling paper. The brand claimed strength “as strong as an elephant's hide,” which gave rise to the brand's spokesperson elephant. An elephant also represents the exoticism of tobacco from these distant lands.
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MOUFFLET – Paris Fine Arts

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