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POSTER: EDWARD MCKNIGHT KAUFFER (1890-1954) BP ETHYL. 1935. Pen and ink maquette. 9x5 inches.

EDWARD MCKNIGHT KAUFFER (1890-1954) BP ETHYL. 1935. Pen and ink maquette.
9 3/4x5 3/4 inches.
Condition A. Framed. With the Shell Mex and B.P. Ltd archive stamps and notations on the recto.
In 1932, when Shell merged with APOC (the Anglo Persian Oil Company, a parent company to British Petroleum), BP's advertising began to benefit from the same ingenious approach that had been initiated by Jack Beddington, Shell's marketing guru. In 1933 BP became known as "BP Ethyl" and began to use the octagonal logo in their advertisements and at their gas pumps. Posters and print ads began to appear with great frequency, and the work required many preliminary studies and sketches. This study is an example of Kauffer's rigorous approach to advertising that includes typography, graphic and geometric elements and minor imagery.

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May 7, 2007 1:30 PM EDT
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