Vintage Chinese Art Deco 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 brands displayed in the top left corner, including Lan Ting, Hong Chun, and Jade Rabbit...

This calendar advertisement poster for White Horse cigarettes was produced by Hu Boxiang, a famous commercial advertising artist in Shanghai during the 1920s-1930s. Framed in a highly ornate floral border, a fashionable woman poses while gathering plum blossoms, emblems of winter and eternal beauty. Dressed in a traditional qipao but with Western hairstyle and accessories, the woman reflects the rising influence of Western advertising and the Art Deco movement during the economic boom of early 20th century Shanghai. Beneath this scene is a calendar for the year 1936, surrounded by packs of prominent cigarette brands...

This 1930s advertising poster for the Gold Bar Cigarettes company draws from a well known Chinese opera scene. It melds the meticulous detail of trad...

This commercial advertisement poster from 1930s Shanghai melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the craft of color lithography. Large companies often presen...