B. P. ETHYL. 1933. 29x 44 inches. Condition B+: repaired tears in margins; abrasion and creases in image. In 1928 Jack Boddington was appointed publicity manager of Shell, becoming director of publicity for Shell Mex-B.P. in 1932 when the two companies decided to merge their distribution in the U.K. Like Frank Pick (the London Underground) and Stephen Tallents (The Empire Marketing Board), Boddington would elevate Shell's advertising campaigns to a superior level of quality. Kauffer, who became one of his close friends, was regularly commissioned to design posters for the oil company. B. P. Ethyl is certainly one of the most striking posters Kauffer ever designed. He organizes the image around an inclined rectangle, surrounded by the typography and brand name, all against a black background. An electric flash of lightening cuts the poster in half, symbolizing the power the fluid has on engines, while a photo integrated on the right shows a statue of a rearing horse to literally evoke the "horse power". A highly symbolic and strong image that was published in this format as well as in a 48 sheet (10x20 feet) version, which raised some questions about it's aesthetics in such an oversized format. Weill, p. 236, no. 418. Kauffer pl. 42.
