Description
A striking, pared-back design dominated by the headline “SYMINGTON’S COFFEE ESSENCE” in large yellow slab-serifs set against a deep cobalt ground. The product bottle is shown at oversized scale reading “Essence of Coffee & Chicory,” making the poster instantly legible at distance. The uncluttered composition focuses purely on product and brand, a hallmark of 1930s point‑of‑sale pieces.
Founded in Edinburgh in 1840, Thomas Symington & Co. pioneered bottled “coffee essence” – an early liquid convenience coffee that could be served hot, cold or in desserts. By the 1930s the company was exporting across the Empire and promoting the drink as “a cup of coffee in one minute”, a claim repeated in contemporary press adverts.
The poster’s bold flat colours and direct typography reflect late‑Art‑Deco commercial style, printed by colour‑lithography on heavyweight stock.
