D'APRÈS ALPHONSE MUCHA (1860-1939) WHITMAN'S CHOCOLATES AND CONFECTIONS / PHILADELPHIA. Circa 1920s.
17 5/8x12 1/2 inches, 44 3/4x31 3/4 cm.
Condition A- / B+: mat staining and repaired tears in margins, not affecting image; minor skinning at bottom edge. Matted and framed.
It is unclear whether Stephen F. Whitman, the confectioner and chocolatier behind Whitman's Chocolates, ever officially licensed Mucha's image for Zodiac to use in advertising his chocolates, yet throughout the 1920s, Mucha's famed image appeared in magazine ads and on tin boxes filled with a variety of chocolates for the company. For the poster, the central figure has all of the hair, ornate jewelry and stars of Mucha's original, but has lost the zodiac references and gained a prominent mosaic background and border. rare. We have found no other copies at auction.