#jean laboureur

We hope that you are all raising a glass to celebrate Repeal Day, marking the end of Prohibition. A lovely Prohibition-era book, Petits & grands verres: choix des meilleurs cocktails, came to us through the Walter Brewster Collection. A 1928 letter from the art dealer César Mange de Hauke is tipped into the binding of this book of cocktail recipes. De Hauke tells Brewster:

I think you will enjoy seeing [the book] - first, because it is illustrated by Laboureur and furthermore, because its contents would be particularly dear to every American, I am sure. But, when I remember the nice parties I attended with you, I think that you will not learn very much from it.

Jean Laboureur, the illustrator of the volume, is an artist who was part of the Cubist circle in Paris. The illustrations in this book demonstrate the accuracy of this description of the artist’s work, from the Benezit Dictionary of Artists:

Laboureur sought to produce work that was attractive but without making concessions to frivolity. He possessed the gift of charm. His art also reveals a very personal concern with elegance.

Cheers!