Porte Menu “St. Raphael Quinquina Rouge Blanc”

Genre: Porte Menu
Title: “St. Raphael Quinquina Rouge Blanc”
Year: c. 1930s
Artist: Unknown (JAC – Jacques Saignier?)
Size (cm): 36×52.5
Country of origin: France

Porte Menus, typically sponsored by drinks companies or the railways, provided a branded “book” into which the daily menu would be placed. The graphic design was often a scale version of the publicity posters in use at the time. As they spent their life folded and closed like a book the artwork was kept away from sunlight. Unlike posters, which were consider worthless and disposable at the time, Porte Menus were part of a restaurant’s inventory; they were kept. Where Porte Menus survive in reasonable condition they provide an amazing splash of colour despite all the wear and tear of daily use. They are an overlooked artifact, containing high quality, collectable, graphic design.

For the collector, they provide an extremely cost effective way into French graphic design. Contemporary work, often by the leading graphic designers of the day (Cassandre, Mohr, Virtel and others) becomes available at a fraction of the price of the corresponding poster. For the design-conscious but space challenged they also provide another appealing characteristic; they are small, offering versatile solutions when it comes to decorating smaller spaces.

This example for St Raphael introduces “the twins”, iconic waiters that have featured prominently in the brands advertising since the 1930s.