Vintage Cigarette Advertisement Poster

This poster from the 1930s draws from a well known Chinese opera scene. It melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the craft of color lithography. These advertisements, influenced by the Art Deco movement in the west, recall the economic boom of early 20th century Shanghai, an international center of business and trade. Layered with imagery of traditional Chinese life, the poster is nonetheless an advertisement for the modern cigarette industry, with several tobacco brands displayed in the top left corner, including Lan Ting, Hong Chun, and Jade Rabbit Cigarettes. Today, posters, like this, are prized by collectors and preserved in museum collections both for their artistry and for the unique glimpse they give of the past. Unframed.