When the motif was first created c.1914, people had few such qualms. The design was one of several executed by Ludwig Hohlwein, probably Germany’s most prolific and successful commercial artist, for the cigarette company Casanova, which had been founded in Dresden in 1900.
For his most popular smoking motif, Hohlwein chose a nonchalant bulldog, quite the dandy, with monocle and red scarf, enjoying his favourite brand. It was first published as a lithograph in 1914 and later manufactured as an enamel sign by the company Boos & Hahn in Ortenberg. There were five different versions of the sign which varied in size or in colouring details.
On April 20, Pari (20% buyer’s premium) in Aschaffenburg, which holds regular sales devoted to enamel signs, offered a 16in x 1ft 11in (40 x 59cm) version from c.1925. It was in an unrestored state and in the catalogue at €10,000-12,000. After a short tussle, the sign was knocked down to an American bidder for €13,000 (£11,110).
