George Washington – A. De Felice & Co. Societa Agrumaria Rodi.

Description

A grand chromolithograph, promoting products from new Italian territories to the Anglo-American market.

This stunning Italian broadside with a well-known motif was created as a poster advertisement for Italian citrus products grown on the island of Rhodes. The poster was printed as a chromolithograph in Napoli, shortly after Italy had won Rhodes and other Aegean islands from the crumbling Ottoman Empire following the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912). The goal was to penetrate the American market with citrus grown in Rhodes. It stands as an illustrative example of an early 20th-century commercial art that not only conveys product and brand identity but also represents the highest aesthetic ideals of its time.

Dominating the composition is a near-full-length, figurative depiction of George Washington: the foremost public figure of the American Revolution and the first president of the United States. He occupies the upper two-thirds of the sheet, standing against an otherwise neutral, gently variegated background that isolates the figure and focuses attention on his person and gestures. The figure is richly dressed in anachronistic, theatrical costume, combining elements of eighteenth-century military and courtly attire, including a vibrant green coat with gilt buttons, an elaborate cravat with heavy lace ruffles, and a bright red sash or cloak draped across his shoulder and waist.

Washington’s pose is formal and emblematic. His left hand rests on a parchment or scroll, suggesting a document. This is likely an allusion to the Declaration of Independence or principles of governance. His right hand holds back the drapery of his sash to fully reveal the eagle below. The eagle, with its wings partially outstretched, occupies the lower foreground. It serves as a symbolic reference to the strength and dignity of the American Republic. The eagle’s feathers are meticulously tinted in dark browns and blacks, with subtle chromatic gradations that demonstrate the chromolithographer’s ability to simulate texture and form through successive color passes.

The overall palette is a vibrant pastel, with greens, reds, yellows, and a range of flesh and earth tones. Achieving the saturation and depth of hue seen in this poster required expert layering of multiple stones or plates, and the variety of colors suggests the use of eight or more printing passes. This would have been technically demanding and relatively costly compared to monochrome prints. The overall finish is highly polished, with uniform ink and careful edge registration, indicating production by a highly experienced firm.

Beneath the pictorial tableau is a block of text identifying the advertiser as A. DE FELICE & Co. Società Agrumaria: an Italian citrus cultivator based on the recently Italianized Aegean island of Rhodes (see context below). The company name is rendered in red and black inks that contrast sharply with the cream-toned paper. This typographic choice, combined with the centered layout, helps assert corporate identity. Flanking the textual field are two roundels depicting medals or awards: accolades purportedly received by the firm. On the left is a depiction labeled “Silver Medal, Paris 1869,” and on the right, a Golden Medal, Edinburgh. In addition to any ornamental value, the inclusion of medals from specific exhibitions signals international competitiveness in both price and product quality.

Context is Everything

At first glance, the inclusion of George Washington in an advertisement for Italian citrus products seems unusual. One might surmise that the target audience for this grand and elegant poster was the American consumer. However, Washington is globally recognized as a symbol of leadership, honesty, and republican virtue, thus transcending a strictly national context. Advertisers and brand promoters in early 20th-century Europe and the United States frequently incorporated historical figures into commercial imagery to suggest moral qualities and prestige by association. By featuring Washington alongside an eagle – a motif already entrenched as symbolic of American nationhood – the artist deliberately invokes trustworthiness and excellence. Such a strategy follows broader trends in which commercial advertisers use cultural symbols to elevate the perceived value of their products, particularly in competitive export markets.

The late nineteenth century saw a dramatic expansion in the use of chromolithography for advertising posters, trade cards, and broadside prints. Although the earliest posters were simple typographic bills, by the 1890s, color lithographic printing had matured into a robust medium for commercial communication, combining text and large figurative imagery to attract consumer attention in urban and rural marketplaces. This period, sometimes described in graphic history as approaching a “golden age” of illustrated advertising, was marked by the visual prominence of posters in public and commercial spaces, not least in countries such as Italy, France, and Germany, where innovative printer-artists worked with advertisers to push chromolithography to new expressive heights.

In the lower right corner, we are provided with the name of the printer who produced this fine example: Folletto, Napoli. Naples was an important center for lithographic printing in Italy during this period, with numerous workshops and print houses serving both local publishers and commercial clients seeking high-quality chromolithographs. Printers like Folletto possessed the technical expertise and stone-engraving facilities required for complex multi-color chromolithographic work, and they often collaborated with advertisers to produce bespoke prints for distribution or display.

Why Rhodes?

At the time this poster was produced, the island of Rhodes was administered by Italy as part of the Italian Aegean Islands following the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-12. Before formal Italian possession, Rhodes was under Ottoman rule, but it was already identified in Italian commercial networks as Rodi. The company’s decision to append “(Italy)” to Rodi on the poster likely reflects marketing logic rather than geopolitical imprecision: claiming Italy as the product’s national provenance would make it more recognizably Italian to English-speaking audiences. The retail practice of emphasizing Italian nationality in export advertising was common for agricultural firms at the time.