Cornetto (Calabash) | 1930s

Cornetto, Circa 1934, by Hugo Laubi

This striking modernist poster features a bold, abstract design promoting Cornetto pipe tobacco. The composition is dominated by a large red circular form at the top, representing the bowl of a calabash pipe, from which extends a sinuous black stem that curves down through the image. Wisps of cream-coloured smoke drift upward from both the bowl and the opening of the pipe. The minimalist colour palette consists primarily of red, black, and cream against an off-white background, creating a strong visual impact. A warm brown typeface forms the brand name "CORNETTO" at the bottom of the poster in prominent capital letters, anchoring the composition. The entire design exemplifies the clean, geometric approach characteristic of Swiss modernist graphic design, with its emphasis on simplified forms and striking visual communication.

This poster emerged during a pivotal period in Swiss graphic design history, when the country was developing its distinctive approach to visual communication that would later influence the International Typographic Style. During the 1930s, Switzerland became an important centre for innovative graphic design as artists merged influences from European movements such as Constructivism with their own aesthetic sensibilities. The Object Poster movement, which this work exemplifies, was particularly influential in Swiss advertising design, focusing on striking, isolated images of products with minimal text. This approach was especially effective for tobacco advertising during the interwar period, when pipe smoking represented sophistication and contemplative leisure. Cornetto was a premium Swiss pipe tobacco that used fine-cut, blended leaves including rare varieties such as Java and Swiss Burley, marketed to discerning smokers during a time when tobacco advertising was largely unregulated and smoking was socially accepted.

Hugo Laubi (1888-1959) was a prominent Swiss illustrator, painter and graphic artist who made significant contributions to the development of poster design in Switzerland. Born and based in Zurich, Laubi studied in Munich and Paris before working as a graphic artist in London in 1911. Upon returning to Switzerland, he became art director at the printing and lithography company Gebrüder Fretz in Zurich in 1918, where he designed over sixty posters throughout his career. In 1920, Laubi travelled to the United States, spending time in Philadelphia and New York, which expanded his artistic perspective.