Vintage Framed Fashion Advertisement

In tandem with a growing number of newspapers and periodicals, print advertising proliferated during China’s Republic Era. A bathing beauty is the star attraction of this print ad from around 1920. With Western features, a body-conscious pose, and a flapper-like indifference, the woman reflects how Western mores and aesthetic style accompanied global commerce. Still vibrantly colored, the ad demonstrates the sophisticated printing methods available to commercial artists of the time. Prized by collectors, such ads give a unique glimpse of the past.