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    Melikian Collection > Collections > Artworks > Asia / Africa > Cosmetic Poster


MATERIAL: Lithography
TYPE: Poster
DIMENSIONS: 15 X 22 inches
CONDITION: A superb lithograph Japanese poster in mint condition.
NOTES: Very rare and superb. This is certainly the most racist Japanese poster I have seen from any era and it is the only Japanese poster I have owned with a depiction of a black man.
LANGUAGE
Language: Japanese
ITEM ID: 627
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Cosmetic Poster

DATE
Year: 1910
Decade: 1910s
Century: 20th (1901-2000)
Notes: Meiji

Meiji era poster for a cosmetic. The artwork is of a real Geisha (name unknown, but her face appears on postcards of the era and she was very popular). Her photo image has been placed on the body of the Geisha artwork. Next to her is a hideous caricature of a black man. Below, the caption reads: “Please use our product ‘Haku Rei; so you won’t look like him.” Haku Rei means “White Pretty Water,” so it appears to have been a face whitener. She is pointing to him as if warning the viewer what to avoid and he is pointing to her as an example of what he wishes he could look like.