Cognac Monnet
Artist
Leonetto Cappiello
1875–1942. Caricaturist, poster artist. Born in Livorno, Italy.
Cappiello moved to Paris in 1898 and made his name as a caricaturist. He turned to posters soon after and signed a long contract with the printer Vercasson, later moving to Devambez.
His formula was a single striking figure, often unrelated to the product, set against a flat black or coloured ground. Chocolat Klaus in 1903 is usually named as the breakthrough. The lettering on his posters is plain, condensed and loud, which is exactly what makes it useful as type.
- Leonetto Cappiello
- 1927
- Art Deco
- France
- Wide sans, Geometric sans, Serif
- Devambez, Paris
- Bibliothèque nationale de France
- Gallica btv1b52510792x
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public domain
Fonts
Sun Capitals
Letters from the poster
Full typeface
Lettering style
Download
Sun Serif
Letters from the poster
Full typeface
Lettering style
Download
History
Monnet was a cognac house. Cappiello’s 1927 sheet keeps his usual formula: one figure, a black ground, and lettering that carries the brand. The sun in the glass is the whole joke.
Two kinds of lettering carry the brand. The strap is a calm lowercase serif in terracotta. COGNAC and MONNET are wide yellow geometric capitals, close in construction and loud enough to read across a street.
The Bibliothèque nationale de France holds a copy printed by Devambez in Paris and dates it 1927.
Source and rights
Leonetto Cappiello died in 1942. His work entered the public domain on 1 January 2013. The scan comes from Gallica, the digital library of the BnF.
Scan from Wikimedia Commons, catalogue record Gallica btv1b52510792x. Brand names on the poster belong to their owners and are never used as font names.
Related posters
Same era, lettering or artist.
