{"product_id":"w-a-gilbey-australian-rubicon-burgundy-vintage-wine-poster-by-edward-mcknight-kauffer-1933","title":"W. \u0026 A. Gilbey Australian Rubicon Burgundy Vintage Wine Poster by Edward McKnight Kauffer, 1933","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdward McKnight Kauffer’s 1933 poster \u003cem\u003eW. \u0026amp; A. Gilbey Australian Rubicon Burgundy\u003c\/em\u003e turns a wine advertisement into a brisk exercise in colour, lettering and controlled imbalance. Across the horizontal composition, the name ‘RUBICON’ advances in large blue characters, while a vivid red wine glass curves above it and scarlet lettering gathers at the lower right. The forms overlap without becoming crowded: rounded glass, block-like type and generous pale space combine to give the design both movement and immediate legibility.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKauffer was an American-born artist who established his career in Britain and became one of the defining figures of British commercial design between the wars. His posters helped bring modernist visual ideas into everyday public life, replacing elaborate pictorial description with simplified silhouettes, assertive typography and sharply organised colour. Here, that approach gives W. \u0026amp; A. Gilbey’s Australian wine a distinctly cosmopolitan identity. The product is not presented through vineyards, landscapes or a conventional still life; instead, Kauffer constructs an atmosphere of refinement through graphic economy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eA closer look\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe poster’s hierarchy is established immediately by ‘RUBICON’, whose sloping, blue-toned letters occupy the central foreground. A subtle shift from pale to deeper blue lends the word a degree of volume, even as the overall design remains emphatically flat. Smaller blue lettering at the upper left identifies ‘W \u0026amp; A GILBEY AUSTRALIAN’, its angled alignment beginning the diagonal momentum that carries across the poster. At the lower right, the abbreviated ‘BURGDY’ and the price ‘4\/6 PER FLAGON’ appear in red, compressing the commercial information into a compact and emphatic conclusion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAbove this typography, the wine glass supplies the principal pictorial element. Its broad red bowl and smooth curved contour stand apart from the hard edges of the lettering, while the suggestion of liquid is created with only slight tonal shading. The glass appears almost to tip towards the name below, linking product and brand in a single descending movement. This interplay of curve and angle is central to the poster’s rhythm: the glass bends, the type leans, and the eye is carried from the modest maker’s name through the oversized product name to the price.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe palette is deliberately restricted. Saturated red and cool blue are isolated against a pale ground, allowing each element to retain maximum clarity. Where the two colours approach and overlap around the centre, they create a lively visual tension without sacrificing readability. A thin dark border contains the expansive horizontal arrangement, sharpening its edges and making the internal asymmetry feel purposeful rather than dispersed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eContext and significance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy the early 1930s, posters had become a prominent arena for modern graphic experimentation in Britain. Their need to communicate quickly encouraged designers to treat words not merely as information but as active visual forms. Kauffer was particularly adept at this synthesis. In \u003cem\u003eAustralian Rubicon Burgundy\u003c\/em\u003e, scale, inclination and colour make the lettering perform much of the work ordinarily assigned to illustration: ‘RUBICON’ is at once a name, a compositional anchor and the poster’s strongest visual event.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe design also reveals how sophisticated beverage advertising could avoid literal abundance. There are no grapes, barrels or convivial drinkers, and little attempt to describe the wine itself. A single glass, a memorable name and a clearly stated price are sufficient. That restraint gives the poster its enduring graphic force, while its emphatic lettering and poised red curve remain characteristic of Kauffer’s ability to make commercial information visually inventive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoosing the right size and finish\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eArtwork can feel intimate at smaller sizes and dramatically more architectural at larger ones. Use the room preview, model image and size guide to see how the proportions and scale will work in your space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf you need an exact size, specialist framing or help planning a larger display, \u003ca href=\"\/fr\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop for advice\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 18x36in (45x90cm) version of this art print.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, or one considered visual detail. \u003ca href=\"\/fr\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee examples of personalised artwork\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eChoose Original to retain the colour and character of the source artwork, or Aged for a warmer, more antique appearance. \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/fr\/pages\/sepia-aged-maps\"\u003eSee examples of our Aged artwork\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery piece is produced to archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte art paper. Choose an art print, framed art print or framed canvas using the finish options above.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFramed art prints use crystal-clear optical acrylic for excellent clarity, lower weight and safer delivery than glass. Each piece arrives professionally framed and ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSelected artworks can be produced at statement sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). Custom sizing and \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/fr\/pages\/custom-framing\"\u003especialist framing\u003c\/a\u003e are also available. If the exact option you need is not listed, \u003ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/fr\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact our workshop\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"9x18in (23x45cm) \/ Art print","offer_id":67649394999687,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"9x18in (23x45cm) \/ Framed art print","offer_id":67649395032455,"sku":null,"price":105.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"9x18in (23x45cm) \/ Framed canvas","offer_id":67649395065223,"sku":null,"price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x24in (30x60cm) \/ Art print","offer_id":67649395097991,"sku":null,"price":63.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x24in (30x60cm) \/ Framed art print","offer_id":67649395130759,"sku":null,"price":150.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x24in (30x60cm) \/ Framed canvas","offer_id":67649395163527,"sku":null,"price":160.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"18x36in (45x90cm) \/ Art print","offer_id":67649395196295,"sku":null,"price":88.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"18x36in (45x90cm) \/ Framed art print","offer_id":67649395229063,"sku":null,"price":230.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"18x36in (45x90cm) \/ Framed canvas","offer_id":67649395261831,"sku":null,"price":250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x40in (50x100cm) \/ Art print","offer_id":67649395294599,"sku":null,"price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x40in (50x100cm) \/ Framed art print","offer_id":67649395327367,"sku":null,"price":305.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x40in (50x100cm) \/ Framed canvas","offer_id":67649395360135,"sku":null,"price":305.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"22x50in (56x127cm) \/ Art print","offer_id":67649395392903,"sku":null,"price":185.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"22x50in (56x127cm) \/ Framed art print","offer_id":67649395425671,"sku":null,"price":875.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"22x50in (56x127cm) \/ Framed canvas","offer_id":67649395458439,"sku":null,"price":755.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"30x60in (75x150cm) \/ Art print","offer_id":67649395491207,"sku":null,"price":255.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"30x60in (75x150cm) \/ Framed art print","offer_id":67649395523975,"sku":null,"price":1400.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"30x60in (75x150cm) \/ Framed canvas","offer_id":67649395556743,"sku":null,"price":1300.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"35x70in (89x178cm) \/ Art print","offer_id":67649395589511,"sku":null,"price":415.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"35x70in (89x178cm) \/ Framed art print","offer_id":67649395622279,"sku":null,"price":1875.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"35x70in (89x178cm) \/ Framed canvas","offer_id":67649395655047,"sku":null,"price":1750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0257\/0344\/8638\/files\/file_dbecc616-b063-4dbd-8f48-b3b2501678e4.jpg?v=1791389569","url":"https:\/\/uniquemaps.co.uk\/fr\/products\/w-a-gilbey-australian-rubicon-burgundy-vintage-wine-poster-by-edward-mcknight-kauffer-1933","provider":"The Unique Maps Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}