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This design, one of three that Loupot created for Canton Furriers in Lausanne, first appeared in 1924 with the aloof, slightly sad woman against a black background. A second edition, which dates to the early 1930s, is the first of several in which the background is blue. In one version the address is 29 Rue Leopold-Robert in La Chaux-de-Fonds; in another its 20 Rue de Bourg in Lausanne. 

Here we have the third edition, printed in 1949 from the same lithographic stones, also with the blue background and the Rue de Bourg address. There is now a change in printer: After World War II, master-printer Auguste Marsens turned his plant over to his son Roger. All editions with a blue background contain the notation “d’apres” (meaning “from a design by”) Loupot. Asked why the original black background was replaced by blue, the current chief of operations, Richard Canton, revealed that the change came about because blue provided better visibility during the winter months. 

Regardless of which edition one is looking at, the poster retains the enveloping warmth of Canton furs and the exquisite design that Loupot created for the establishment. 

"French advertising art between the wars was led by a "gang of four" (Loupot, Cassandre, Colin and Carlu) who distinguished themselves and their medium in almost everything they created. 

Charles Loupot

"When Charles Loupot finished art school in Lyon in 1913, the first wave of french poster art was already history. Toulouse-Lautrec had died in 1901, Alfonse Mucha had left Paris, Eugene Grasset was almost forgotten, Cheret was reported to be fed up with designing posters. There was yet no indication of a second, equally strong wave, and that Loupot would be one of it's leading figures, together with Cassandre, Carlu and Colin. 

His beginnings, in Lausanne, Switzerland, were quite humble. In those times, clients often ordered their posters from a printer, who would in turn get suitable designs from artists. Apparently nobody was bothered when the same picture was used for two or even three different clients, and so we have, in 1917, an identical Loupot poster for a fashion shop in Lausanne and a department store in Lucerne. 

However, Loupot's talent soon became obvious, and the number of commissions he received after 1918 for fashion and luxury goods makes it clear that his elegant and colorful designs were well sought after. By 1923 his reputation had reached Paris and he left Lausanne. 

There, his success continues and he wins the competition for a poster for the famous Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs in 1925, that coined the name Art Deco for the style of french art and design between the wars. He cooperates with Cassandre and Carlu, and in 1937 begins to redesign the logo for the aperitif St. Raphael. To this day, the characteristic font can still be seen all over France. The poster market has also recognized Loupot's worth." (Rene Wanner, www.posterpage.ch)