RITA WAFFLE POSTER

No one personifies the joy of baking better than this endearing little baker.  With a broad smile, he’s carrying his Rita-brand gaufres (waffles), one under each arm.  The spread of his legs suggests that he is striding along, but we have to imagine his feet moving with his legs, as he actually has no feet unless they are black and thus invisible against the dark background.

He’s a vision in white -- wearing the traditional white, double-breasted baker's jacket, with white pants, a white cap, and white gloves.  He’s even sporting a white beard and moustache. And the whites of his eyes are just that --- very, very white.  Only his tiny face is not this ultra-white color. 

Clearly, he loves his waffles, proclaiming that they are the "dessert de choix!" – the dessert of choice – whether "seches" (dry – i.e. no filling) or "fourrees" (filled).

The yellow/beige color of the waffles and of the large print proclaiming the brand “Rita" at the bottom, combined with the white of the baker and of the smaller type (both at the top and at the bottom of the poster) provide a dramatic contrast with the dark background.

French artist Leon Dupin (1898-1971), who created this poster, was a self-taught illustrator who became well-known for the advertising posters he did during his long career. He worked frequently with the printer Joseph Charles in Paris who printed this poster.

When this poster was printed, Ritagaufres (waffles) were made in the city of Roubaix in northern France. The brand was subsequently acquired by the Belgian baker Poppies which now makes Rita waffles in Belgium.

This eighty-eight-year-old lithograph shows the timeless power of elegant design in advertising. If you love to bake and have an empty wall in your kitchen in need of some interesting art, look no further.  This happy baker would add fun and interest to the room where you love to create. 

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