Fleschtau Vintage Genever Poster, 1928

Fleschtau Vieux Genièvre Exquis (1928–1930), created by an anonymous artist in 1928, builds its advertisement around an affable elderly drinker, a raised glass and an emphatically displayed bottle. The figure occupies the right of the tall composition, smiling beneath a bright orange hat, while a deep blue ground pushes his face, glass and blue clothing sharply forward. Product and personality are compressed into the same crowded field: the bottle is not a secondary detail but a central graphic presence, supported by the commanding name ‘FLESCHTAU’ and the description ‘VIEUX GÉNIÈVRE EXQUIS’.

The poster belongs to a period in which illustrated advertising had to establish a brand’s character almost instantaneously. Rather than offer detailed information, its anonymous designer gives Fleschtau a memorable visual identity through bold lettering, simplified colour and a convivial human figure. Genièvre denotes a juniper-flavoured spirit related to genever; here, the words vieux and exquis lend the drink associations of age and distinction. The smiling drinker makes that refined language approachable, turning the brand into a scene of sociability and evident enjoyment.

A closer look

The man’s head provides the composition’s warmest accent. His orange hat, articulated with a few lines suggesting folds, stands out against the cool, almost continuous blue behind him. Subtle shading around the cheeks and eyes gives his face a degree of volume, but the overall treatment remains deliberately graphic: strong contours and broad areas of flat colour matter more than naturalistic depth. The pale drink in the raised glass catches a faint highlight, a small touch that distinguishes its transparent surface from the surrounding blocks of colour.

Below and towards the centre, the bottle anchors the design. Its cream label interrupts the darker palette, allowing the product name and decorative emblem to remain legible amid the tightly interlocked elements. The label’s finer patterns reward closer attention, yet from a distance it functions as a bright visual panel. Brand lettering appears both on the product and within the larger design, creating repetition without requiring a lengthy sales message.

Typography controls the lower portion of the poster. The large ‘FLESCHTAU’ lettering supplies a firm horizontal base beneath the diagonals and curves of the figure, glass and bottle, while the smaller line ‘VIEUX GÉNIÈVRE EXQUIS’ identifies the drink more precisely. Cream and green details temper the dominant orange, blue and black, and a narrow dark border contains the otherwise densely packed arrangement. With little unused space, the eye moves quickly between face, drink and name—the three components on which the advertisement depends.

Context and significance

Commercial posters of the late 1920s increasingly favoured concentrated visual messages suited to streets, cafés and shopfronts, where an advertisement might be seen only briefly. This design reflects that practical demand without sacrificing decorative wit. Its asymmetric composition feels lively, while its restricted palette makes the forms readable at a glance. The elderly spokesman also connects the idea of an aged spirit with experience and good humour, an association communicated through juxtaposition rather than elaborate narrative.

Although its maker is unrecorded, Fleschtau Vieux Genièvre Exquis preserves the polished economy of interwar beverage advertising: a distinctive character, a confidently presented bottle and a brand name made inseparable from colour and type. Its appeal lies in that balance of directness and detail—immediate enough to function as publicity, yet sufficiently considered to remain engaging long after its original commercial purpose has passed.

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The model in the listing images is holding the 36x24in (90x60cm) version of this art print.

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