Vintage Hatamen Cigarette Advertisement Poster

With its tobacco product discreetly located on the lower left, this early 20th-century Shanghai poster for Hatamen cigarettes uses a dramatically rendered image to capture the attention of the public. Printed in the 1930s, the lithograph poster demonstrates the rise of Western-style advertising methods, mixing traditional themes with lushly illustrated and narrative-based themes. In this evocative image, two women, their attention focused on a book, enter a room containing an altar table laden with smoking incense, auspicious plants, and other offerings. The impending dark visible through the doorway and the breeze that stirs their garments add a sense of mystery to the scene.

Minor water damage and creasing.