103 - BATSCHARI CIGARETTES - c.1920

BATSCHARI CIGARETTES - c.1920 Signed “Robert POLACK” Rare original lithographed Art Deco-style advertising fan. 27 x 28.5 cm. “J. Ganne - Paris” Very good overall condition - The lithograph features vivid, fresh colors. The wooden ribs are in perfect condition. There are only some slight creases along the edges, a tiny, clean 2-cm tear (virtually invisible) near one of the main ribs, and very subtle, minor imperfections on the right arm of the female figure. - Superb, fresh appearance - BATSCHARI (A.) (commonly abbreviated as ABC for August Batschari Cigarettes). The business began in 1834 with the cigars produced by his father-in-law, Heinrich Reinboldt. The cigarette factory was officially established in 1899 by its founder, August Karl Batschari (1854–1923), in Baden-Baden, Germany. The factory and the brand were acquired by the German Reemtsma Group in 1929. A pioneer of artistic packaging in Europe, the company enlisted the services of the great masters of graphic design in the 1910s and 1920s: Ludwig Hohlwein, Lucian Bernhard, Hans Rudi Erdt, and Robert Polack. The brand’s cigarettes were distributed in France by the Société Française d’Exploitation des Manufactures A. Batschari, located at the prestigious address of 24 Place Vendôme in Paris. This Parisian subsidiary enabled the company to market its luxury lines, such as ABC and La Couronne.