Collection: Job

First made in 1838 and later patented in1849, JOB cigarette rolling papers were originally sold in small booklets in France, but are sold internationally today. They were designed by Frenchman Jean Bardou, who labeled them with a diamond between his initials J.B., gaining the papers the brand name JOB. The posters in our collection stem from a series of art nouveau artists hired in the 1890s to produce advertisements. The most famous, also sold as a lithograph, was illustrated by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), and was reportedly inspired by Michelangelo's Sibyls in the Sistine Chapel. JOB commissioned artist Paul Harvey to design a series of posters for a new campaign in 2008 inspired by the original Mucha poster. Harvey’s collection was entitled “Famous Doubles” and incorporates both the font and border of Mucha’s original work. The JOB ads in our collection feature young, beautiful women smoking cigarettes seductively, a pastime reserved for wayward women and prostitutes at the time.