French posters in the twentieth century exhibit a legacy from the turn of the nineteenth century’s creative designs from such graphic artists as Jules Chéret and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Their crisp imagery established a model for a hundred years of artful graphic design to follow. Every item offered for sale was featured in the form of a brightly colored enormous-scale work of art which was to find a place on billboards on the streets of Paris and throughout France. One of the subjects that tantalized the populace was social beverages, which included wine -- the mainstay of the French table -- and other alcoholic drinks that were produced in France and its environs. Moderating influences coopted the advertising vehicle intending to promote an alternative to the abuse of alcohol, namely, coffee and its implements of production. Most significantly, governmental programs used posters to warn of the hazards of indulgence and to produce a spirit of sobriety. Cognac: la grande marque, Leonetto Capiello, Lithograph on paper, 47.25 x 62.5"