OTTO BAUMBERGER (1889-1961) MARQUE PKZ. 1923.
50x35¾ inches, 127x90¾ cm. Wolfsberg, Zurich.
Condition A-: small replaced loss at top margin; minor repaired tears at edges. Framed.
Baumberger was one of the most prolific Swiss poster artists, with well over 200 designs to his credit. Beginning in 1917, he regularly worked for PKZ, during which time he became close friends with (and advisor to) Emil Huber, PKZ's advertising director. This poster is not only the best he produced for the company, but is also an icon in poster history. The tweed coat is rendered in near-photographic perfection to the point where you can practically feel the fabric. Baumberger took a completely new approach to advertising by ingeniously incorporating the poster's text into the image in the form of the label in the coat. With this poster, Baumberger cemented his role as master of the "Object Poster" (a title he earned four years earlier with a classic image of a top hat), and began the trend of "New Objectivity" within the Swiss school of Graphic Design. A sensation from the day it was issued, this image remains compelling and proves to be one of the finest PKZ posters. Avant Garde p. 114, Modern Poster 188, Weill 439, Realismes 19, The Poster 156, Design Graphique 77, Mechanical Age pl. 44, Muller-Brockmann 137, Swiss Graphic Design p. 29.