Fernet-Branca 1909

Against a flat, dazzling field of chrome yellow, a crowned figure with streaming red hair throws both arms triumphantly to the sky, and her extravagant gown, the wide flared sleeves, the tiered skirt, the whole silhouette, is built entirely from little dark Fernet-Branca bottles, hundreds of them stacked and shimmering. Only her face, her ringed hands and her red-stockinged legs escape the costume of glass. Above her the brand name FERNET-BRANCA marches in bold blue capitals, SPEZIALITAT VON FRATELLI BRANCA in MAILAND beneath, and across the base the slogans DEN APPETIT REIZENDER, VERDAUUNGSLIKOR and the resounding DER KONIG DER BITTER, the king of bitters. It is instantly, joyously modern.

This is Leonetto Cappiello at the height of his powers, in a design of 1909 for Fratelli Branca of Milan and their famous herbal amaro. Cappiello, the Livorno-born artist often called the father of modern advertising, invented the poster idea we still live with, one arresting figure, one saturated background, one image the eye cannot forget. Here the German-language text aimed the Italian bitter at the Austro-German market, while the flat yellow ground and the bottle-built queen show his genius for turning a product into a character. Rather than painting the bottle, he made the bottle the woman, so the brand and the figure become inseparable in memory, exactly the effect every advertiser since has chased. It is a cornerstone of the poster's golden age and one of the most reproduced advertising images ever made, still instantly recognisable more than a century later.

Each print is a faithful fine-art reproduction of the original lithograph, produced on museum-grade 189gsm archival matte paper using pigment inks so the electric yellow stays vivid, the blues stay deep and the bottles keep their glassy sheen. The non-reflective matte surface reads cleanly in any light and gives the poster the presence of real artwork. Available in five sizes, 8x12, 12x18, 16x24, 20x30 and 24x36 inches, every poster ships rolled in a protective tube, ready to frame. This is a new archival reproduction, not an original antique.

Few images own a wall like this one. Fernet-Branca is made for a home bar, kitchen, dining room, games room or man cave, and it is a showpiece in any bar, pub, bistro or Italian restaurant, where its yellow blaze pulls the eye from across the room. It sits perfectly among other vintage amaro, aperitivo and liquor advertisements, and it is a brilliant gift for cocktail and Fernet enthusiasts, for bartenders, and for collectors of Cappiello and Belle Epoque poster art. Whether framed above the bottles it celebrates or hung as the anchor of a gallery wall, it delivers colour, drama and a genuine slice of design history.

Crown your walls with the king of bitters. Order this iconic Cappiello classic today and let its unmistakable yellow light up the room.