Chocolat Klaus
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
- 1903
- Belle Époque
- France
- Condensed sans, Sans, Italic
- Vercasson, Paris
- Bibliothèque nationale de France
- Gallica btv1b9011910c
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public domain
Fonts
Gold Condensed
Letters from the poster
Full typeface
Lettering style
Download
Strap Capitals
Letters from the poster
Full typeface
Lettering style
Download
Strap Italic
Letters from the poster
Full typeface
Lettering style
Download
History
Klaus was a Swiss chocolate brand selling into France. The poster sells it on mood rather than product: a rider in green on a red horse, flat against black. It is often named as the poster that made Cappiello, and the start of his habit of using one unexpected figure as the whole message.
Three kinds of lettering do the selling. CHOCOLAT KLAUS is a condensed, slightly irregular grotesque in gold. The strap sets LE SUPRÊME DU GENRE CHOCOLAT in a plain capital, flanked by DELECTA and SUISSE in a compact bold italic.
The Bibliothèque nationale de France holds a copy printed by Vercasson in Paris and dates it 1903.
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 btv1b9011910c. Brand names on the poster belong to their owners and are never used as font names.
Related posters
Same era, lettering or artist.
