A rare original drawing of a Bordeaux poster for "Le Nil". A. Lesbour, for the Wetterwald Frères printing house Gouache signed at the bottom of the sheet 56 x 35.5 cm First introduced in the Romantic era, cigarettes had to be rolled in fine paper. At first, the paper was of Spanish origin, but factories were set up in south-western France. In 1845, a former baker, Jean Bardou, patented his invention and created the J.B. brand, which later became JOB paper. His brother Joseph followed in his footsteps and opened a workshop under the name of "papier Bardou". At the end of the Second Empire, the inauguration of the Suez Canal triggered a wave of Egyptomania in France. With Egypt itself importing large quantities of tobacco rolling papers, Joseph Bardou had the idea of creating the "Le Nil" brand. His son Eugène brought Le Nil into the era of industrial advertising by hiring some of the best designers of the time, including Alphonse Mucha, Albert Guillaume and Leonetto Cappiello. "Je ne fume que le Nil" (I only smoke the Nile) became a household name. As the company was based in Angoulême, it's not surprising that it turned to the largest lithographic printing house in Aquitaine, Wetterwald Frères, which was able to place one of its designers here.