Le Thermogène
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
- 1909
- Belle Époque
- France
- Condensed sans, Shadow and outline
- Établissements Vercasson, Paris
- Bibliothèque nationale de France
- Gallica btv1b9013858g
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public domain
Fonts
Fire Condensed
Letters from the poster
Full typeface
Lettering style
Download
History
Thermogène was a medicated cotton wadding that produced heat, laid on the chest or back against coughs, rheumatism and stitches. Cappiello turned “it makes heat” into a figure leaping out of the wadding and breathing fire. It became one of the best known images in French advertising.
The design is usually dated 1909. The copy held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France was printed by Vercasson in 1928, which says a lot about how long the image stayed on the walls.
The lettering is a narrow, upright sans. The headline and COMBAT carry a dark outline. The red line underneath uses the same letters smaller and without the outline, then drops into small capitals for DE and lowercase for etc.
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 btv1b9013858g. Brand names on the poster belong to their owners and are never used as font names.
Related posters
Same era, lettering or artist.
