Elixir De Kempenaar Vintage Advertising Poster, 1908
Elixir De Kempenaar Vintage Advertising Poster, 1908
Elixir De Kempenaar 2, an anonymous beverage advertisement from 1908, turns a motoring excursion into a scene of exuberant promotion. Three bonneted women crowd into an open automobile, their bright clothing set against a softly blended green background. At the wheel, the central figure wears a vivid red blouse and meets the scene with confident good humour; her companions, dressed in blue and green, lean in from either side. Above them, the brand name “Elixir De Kempenaar” commands the upper part of the poster in large serif lettering.
Created at a moment when commercial printing was becoming increasingly central to everyday urban visual culture, the poster belongs to an era in which advertisers developed memorable identities through bold type, theatrical characters and readily understood signs of modern life. Here the automobile does more than provide a setting for the bottles: in 1908 it was still a conspicuous emblem of novelty, movement and sociability. The unknown designer draws these associations into the service of the drink, constructing an advertisement that feels less like a formal product announcement than a lively comic episode.
A closer look
The three figures form a compact, animated group across the upper and central portions of the composition. The driver occupies the visual pivot, framed by the steering mechanism and the strong horizontal body of the car. Her white bonnet catches the light, as do those of the women beside her, creating a repeated pale motif across the darker clothing and green surroundings. To the left, the blue-clad passenger poses with one hand at her hip; the woman on the right answers her stance in green, giving the otherwise asymmetrical arrangement a playful sense of balance.
Colour is organised for immediate legibility. Saturated red, blue and green distinguish the women from one another, while the vehicle introduces broad passages of blue and brown. Cream-coloured bonnets and warm skin tones lighten the centre, and the brass lamp at the front of the automobile supplies a small golden accent. The hazier backdrop lacks the sharper definition of the figures and machinery, allowing faces, gestures and costume to remain emphatically in the foreground.
Several smaller details clarify the advertisement’s message. Bottles of Elixir De Kempenaar sit at the right of the car, their partially visible labels repeating the identity announced overhead. The steering wheel, handles and gleaming lamp are rendered with enough precision to make the motorcar recognisable and desirable, yet the mechanical details never overwhelm the human comedy. Fine patterns and folds in the bonnets add texture, while the women’s individual expressions keep the arrangement from becoming merely decorative.
Context and significance
Early twentieth-century beverage posters often relied upon a single persuasive scenario rather than extensive written explanation. A product might be associated with vitality, convivial company or a fashionable pastime, allowing the illustration to carry much of the argument. Elixir De Kempenaar 2 follows that approach: its hierarchy is direct, moving from the emphatic brand name to the cheerful passengers and finally to the bottles tucked into the vehicle.
Its anonymity is also characteristic of a substantial body of commercial art whose creators were rarely given the prominence accorded to fine artists. Such images nevertheless helped establish the visual grammar of modern advertising—large, distinctive lettering; concentrated colour; expressive figures; and a product placed within an easily remembered narrative. The poster remains especially engaging for the way it brings together two forms of early twentieth-century novelty: branded consumer culture and the conspicuous spectacle of the open motorcar.
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