Art Deco French Enamel CASINO Sign by Cassandre

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Art Deco French Enamel CASINO Sign by Cassandre

About the Item

I can’t even boil water in my own kitchen without my own CASINO sign to oversee the operation. Mine looks like it went through D-Day, but this one’s a lot cleaner; it appears to have had only a couple of rock-hard baguettes and several wine bottles hurled at it. That cute little grocer-guy has an immodest message: "Je vends partout, je vends de tout" (I sell everywhere, and I sell everything). And that was before the internet! In 1931 the French grocery chain CASINO (pronounced kah'-zeeno) hired France’s preeminent graphic artist, Adolphe Mouron, to create a poster to promote their business. Down in the lower right-hand corner of that poster Mouron plunked the grocer-guy in his apron, holding the world globe in one hand, his scale in the other. Mouron, by the way, sought fame as a "serious" artist and hence hid behind the moniker Cassandre when he sullied himself by working in the graphic and – ugh – commercial arts. Casino higher-ups doubtless perceived the magic in Cassandre’s grocer-guy, and hired the good folks at the Emaillerie Alsacienne in Strasbourg to create enamel signs such as the one I’m selling here, signs which promptly appeared along the byways and highways of La Belle France. How long they stayed up is another question -- the temptation to pry them off their moorings and take them home was clearly far too great. But such a compliment! At this late date there isn’t one left to steal in France. So you don’t have to buy a plane ticket to France, hire a black BMW stealth machine and troll through the countryside under the cover of darkness to find your own. I’ve done the dirty work of buying it from an honest antiques dealer in France, and I offer it to you without a flicker of shame or guilt.

Creator:
Adolphe Mouron Cassandre (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 27 in (68.58 cm)
Style:
Art Deco (Of the Period)
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Ca. 1930
Condition:
As described, as photographed.
Seller Location:
San Francisco, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: U1209199111310