Léo Marfurt - Miss Belga - Antwerpen - 1920s

Original advertising - flyer/handbill (offset lithography) from the 1920s of the previous century with the logo 'Miss Belga / Cigarettes Belga'. It was distributed as an advertising carrier for 'sound film screenings' offered by the Antwerp tobacco manufacturer Vander Elst. The iconic design by Leo Marfurt with Miss Belga (model Paula Bollaert) in the colors of the Belgian flag is the standout centerpiece.

Dimensions: 21 cm high x 17 cm wide
Condition B+: entirely intact (see photos)
Shipping: in a reinforced envelope with track & trace.
Disclaimer: we will not ship to the USA and Canada.

The Miss Belga logo first appeared in the mid-1920s and was the culmination of a savvy marketing campaign avant la lettre, conceived by Alphonse and François Vander Elst, the owners of the Antwerp cigarette brand.

There was long-standing confusion about her identity, but the proto-Miss Belga was the Antwerp-based Paula Bollaert. A secretary who, at 19, was asked to pose for a poster.