Issue 2.1, China Vision, Part I
Design for Commerce: chinese label art for common goods, 1900-1976
[Supplemental Illustrations to full article (page 60)]
by Andrew S. Cahan, author and collector
EARLY LABELSPrinting blocks for Chinese labels have been found that date back to the 1200s. Woodblock printing was the primary method used for manufacturing labels well into the 20th century. These were often printed on red paper and strongly resembled the joss paper that is still used for burning, as a way of sending offerings to ancestors as well as prayers to deities.
BIRD BRAND MATCH BOX LABEL (above) - wood block-printed label from the early 1900s. Image courtesy of the author.
SAM YICK SUI KEE FIRECRACKER LABEL (above) - c.1920. The deer is symbolic of longevity and is often depicted with Ling Chi, the fungus of immortality, in its mouth. Image courtesy of the author.
RELIGION, MYTHOLOGY, and FOLKLOREMyths, legends, and supernatural animals were popular subject matter. These labels were often framed by borders influenced by the prevailing Western styles, while revealing strong influence from traditional new years posters (Nianua).
FABRIC LABEL (above) - c.1930s, Foshan, Canton, ChinaFig.8: LUEN CHONG TAI TEA CO.- c. 1930s tea box label. Image courtesy of the author.
LUEN CHONG TAI TEA CO. (above) - c. 1930s tea box label. Image courtesy of the author.
FISHERMAN CIGARETTES (above) - Decorative traditional scene on a 1930s-‘40s cigarette pack. Image courtesy of the author.
MEE CHUN TEA CO. MOON FAIRY TEA BOX LID (above) - Hong Kong, 1950s. Image courtesy of the author.
WOMEN IN ADVERTISING
LADY’S CLOTHES BOX LID (above) - 1930s-colorful and artistically rendered. Image courtesy of the author.
KNIT GIRL CIGARETTE LABEL (above) - c.1930s While the image of a girl knitting may not strike one as a feminist representation of the modern Chinese girl, she is shown well coifed, wearing a stylish Cheongsam, and is wearing make-up, all of which were manifestations of the foreign influenced move toward individuality and freedom of expression unfolding in Shanghai. Image courtesy of the author.
YICK LOONG FIRECRACKER CO. MACAU-“LADY MARCO PATO” (above) - c.1950, Ornate and colorful firecracker label heavily influenced by Shanghai poster art but rendered by a relatively untrained artist. Image courtesy of the author.
THREADING NEEDLES FABRICS LABEL (above) - The women shown threading needles in this 1920s fabric label are wearing Western style clothing of the time. Image courtesy of the author. PATRIOTISM AND THE MILITARYPatriotic imagery and text served several purposes: to show the political loyalties of a company, to appeal to the loyalties of the consumer, and to show allegiance to nationalist movements promoting sale of indigenous products.
TAK KEE CO. TEA TINS (above) - The tin on the left was made prior to the adoption of the Nationalist “Sun” flag in 1928 (right). In examples such as these they can be useful in placing a product in a particular time frame. Image courtesy of the author.
RESISTANCE BRAND FIRECRACKER LABEL (above) - This 1930s firecracker label depicts Chinese fighting forces holding off the Japanese invasion. Image courtesy of the author.
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 1950sThe 1950s were a transition period from private ownership to state owned business. Despite campaigns encouraging artists to adhere to the principles of the Yanan Forum, some pre-revolutionary characteristics still prevailed.
YOUTH BRAND SOAP AD (above) - 1930s style Shanghai sex appeal remained an influence in this 1950s soap ad. Image courtesy of the author.
HARVEST AND FACTORY FABRIC LABEL (above) - Art deco and Victorian elements surround the images of progress through factory and harvest imagery. Image courtesy of the author. CULTURAL REVOLUTION PRC (1966-1976)Cultural Revolution era labels exhibit the most extreme interpretation of the government-sanctioned characteristics outlined in the Yanan Forum For Literature and Art. Commercial artwork became more serious and stoic than ever before. Paradoxically, the role of label and advertising art was now seen as a conduit for propaganda rather than a vehicle for promoting sales.Despite the narrow guidelines in which artists were forced to work, the best label design of the era contained visually exciting imagery-a world of uncluttered, impersonal beauty, with imaginatively stylized renderings of technological progress and abundant harvests.
CIGARETTE LABEL-Somber and defiant, three heroic figures clutch quotations from Chairman Mao-Zhedong as a sea of red flags moves beneath the calligraphy of the ‘great helmsman’. Image courtesy of the author. About the AuthorAndrew S. Cahan has been a collector of Chinese ephemera as far back as he can remember. Born near New York City in 1958, he graduated from Oberlin College with a minor degree in East Asian studies, and later attended the Folklore Curriculum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A lifelong Sinologist, Cahan's experience with the Chinese world encompasses countless visits to Chinese communities on the East Coast, numerous trips to Asia, and decades of personal research and correspondence. He is the author of Chinese Label Art 1900-1976 (Schiffer Publications 2006) and is currently working on a second volume.
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