Hasselt Vieux Extra, created by an anonymous designer in 1924, is an unusually expansive piece of beverage advertising. Its emphatic central lettering is surrounded by a compact industrial world: distillery buildings and smoking chimneys above, bottles and barrels below, and smaller architectural scenes at either side. A thick red border holds the busy composition together, while vivid orange and deep red stand sharply against a warm beige ground.

The design belongs to the commercial visual culture of the interwar period, when labels and advertising graphics had to establish a product’s identity quickly and unmistakably. Rather than depending upon illusionistic depth, it uses flat colour, strong contrast and a carefully ordered hierarchy of words and pictures. The result is both promotional and documentary in character: the product name commands attention, but the surrounding imagery also presents the business through its buildings, goods and processes. The identity of the designer is unrecorded, as was often the case with graphics made for everyday commercial use.

A closer look

At the centre, “Hasselt Vieux Extra” forms the visual anchor, its bold typography occupying the most prominent position in the design. Directly beneath it, the word “DISTILLATEUR” appears in a smaller but still assertive typeface, followed lower down by “FABRICANT DE LEVURE”. These lines do more than supply information: their changing scale creates a clear sequence, moving from brand to trade and then to manufacture. The restrained number of colours ensures that even the smaller wording remains part of the poster’s broader graphic rhythm.

Above the lettering, the industrial buildings are articulated with finer outlines than the broad areas of colour below. Chimneys release stylised trails of smoke, turning production itself into a prominent feature of the composition. Tiny figures near the architecture provide a sense of scale, while an inset scene at the right introduces another building and pedestrians. Look closely and the structures reveal ornamental pediments over the windows—small architectural refinements that temper the otherwise functional factory imagery.

The lower foreground shifts attention from production to the finished commodity. Bottles and barrels are assembled beneath the central text, their rounded forms contrasting with the vertical chimneys and rectilinear façades above. Minute labels appear on the barrels, while decorative foliage along the margin adds an organic counterpoint to the architecture. These peripheral details prevent the design from feeling merely diagrammatic: industry, merchandise and ornament are compressed into a single symmetrical display.

Context and significance

Commercial graphics of the 1920s often had to work across more than one setting, from packaging and labels to larger promotional displays. Clarity was therefore essential. Here, the limited palette and centralised composition make the name legible at once, yet the subsidiary illustrations reward closer inspection. The pairing of conspicuous branding with views of buildings and stock also projects an impression of an established manufacturing enterprise without sacrificing decorative impact.

Hasselt Vieux Extra is especially engaging for the way it gives industrial subject matter an almost heraldic order. Factory, lettering, barrels and foliage each occupy a distinct place, while the red-orange palette binds them into a unified commercial emblem. It offers a vivid glimpse of a period when advertising design could communicate product, producer and place of manufacture within one densely organised graphic field.

Choosing the right size and finish

Artwork can feel intimate at smaller sizes and dramatically more architectural at larger ones. Use the room preview, model image and size guide to see how the proportions and scale will work in your space.

If you need an exact size, specialist framing or help planning a larger display, ask our workshop for advice.

The model in the listing images is holding the 24x36in (60x90cm) version of this art print.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, or one considered visual detail. See examples of personalised artwork.

Choose Original to retain the colour and character of the source artwork, or Aged for a warmer, more antique appearance. See examples of our Aged artwork.

Every piece is produced to archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte art paper. Choose an art print, framed art print or framed canvas using the finish options above.

Framed art prints use crystal-clear optical acrylic for excellent clarity, lower weight and safer delivery than glass. Each piece arrives professionally framed and ready to hang.

Selected artworks can be produced at statement sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). Custom sizing and specialist framing are also available. If the exact option you need is not listed, contact our workshop.

This artwork is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The work is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present an art print without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas art and explore the differences between my different finishes.