Frederik Stocks May’s Balsam Apéritif, created in 1917, turns the serving of a drink into a crisp theatrical encounter. Against an uninterrupted field of deep blue, a smiling waiter presents a glass to an elegantly dressed woman in vivid red. The figures, bottle and lettering are arranged in broad, sharply contrasting areas of colour, giving the advertisement an immediacy that could be grasped at a glance. Gold-toned words at the top announce “BALSAM” and “APÉRITIF”, while the prominently placed bottle in the lower left makes the commercial subject unmistakable.

Stocks May, an English artist born in 1892, worked here in the polished language of early twentieth-century advertising. Posters of this kind had to reconcile two demands: the direct communication of a brand and the creation of a desirable social world around it. Rather than showing the beverage in isolation, the design associates Balsam with attentive service, fashionable dress and a poised moment of sociability. Its sophistication lies in that economy—product, name and atmosphere are delivered through a small number of carefully controlled forms.

A closer look

The upper half is structured around the exchange between the two figures. At the left, the waiter leans towards his customer with a broadly drawn smile, his white shirt and black bow tie standing out cleanly against the blue. A tray extends horizontally between them, carrying a small, prism-like glass whose pale highlights suggest transparency. This narrow horizontal element acts almost like a bridge, joining the waiter’s forward movement to the woman’s composed, seated pose.

On the right, the woman’s red dress provides the poster’s strongest chromatic accent. Her black hat and softly waved hair frame a face turned towards the approaching drink, while the lightly indicated chair prevents the setting from becoming visually crowded. There is little conventional modelling: volume is conveyed through selected outlines and restrained patches of shading, particularly around the waiter’s waistcoat. The result is graphic rather than illusionistic, with gesture and silhouette doing most of the descriptive work.

The oversized bottle at the lower left forms a second visual anchor. Its dark body rises into the scene beneath the waiter, and the label repeats the Balsam name in white and red. This repetition is central to the design’s hierarchy: the eye encounters the brand in the large gold lettering above, then again on the container below. Orange-gold typography, red clothing, white details and dark outlines all gain intensity from the surrounding blue, while the generous areas of unoccupied background preserve clarity and keep the composition buoyant.

Context and significance

Created during a period when illustrated posters were an established part of urban commercial culture, Balsam Apéritif demonstrates how advertising could borrow the elegance and compositional discipline of contemporary illustration. Its flat colour, emphatic typography and simplified setting are practical devices, but they also give the scene its distinctive modernity. Nothing extraneous competes with the central proposition: a named drink, attractively served, within a world of cultivated leisure.

The poster remains engaging because its sales message is inseparable from its visual wit. The tiny glass, poised between two animated figures, becomes the fulcrum of the entire arrangement, while the much larger bottle below quietly reveals what the conversation is really about. Stocks May’s design is both cordial and controlled—a compact example of how early twentieth-century graphic artists made commercial communication memorable through colour, character and exact visual emphasis.

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 18x24in (45x60cm) 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.