ANTON, O.C.J. - Poster, rare state before text . HAPAG "Potsdam".

Original art déco cruise ship travel poster promoting HAPAG Line to Colombo, Singapore, Manilla, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kobe and Yokohama. Great illustration by the German painter and graphic artist Ottomar Anton (1895-1976) showing a passenger cruise liner, with it name "Potsdam", on a dark blue font. In the background a map of South East Asia within grey the route with its anchorages.

This is the rare state without the lettering. Printed by Mühlmeister & Johler, Hamburg

When Hapag’s Augusta Victoria set out on the world's first ever "pleasure cruise" on 22 January 1891, it was the beginning of the history of cruises.

Hapag (Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft) was established in the mid-nineteenth century to accommodate the escalation in European migration to North America.

Concerned that Hapag was too dependent on trade with the Americas, Hapag's passenger manager, Albert Ballin, instituted a monthly freight service between Hamburg and eastern destinations, including Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Japan.
In the early twentieth century, Hapag was the world's largest shipping company, owning 190 deep sea vessels, operating on 74 routes, and calling at over 350 different ports worldwide. Its sister company NDL had 135 deep sea vessels and coastal ships bringing the NDL fleet total to 494 ships.

The combined passenger cargo vessel 'Potsdam' which was among the most advanced of the time and was among the most famous vessel ever owned by the company.

Anton is most known for his posters, which he created from the mid-1920s. He created numerous posters for various shipping companies, such as the Cunard Line, Hapag, the Hamburg Süd, but also for the German Zeppelin-Reederei.In 1936 he designed the official poster for the sailing competitions at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Kiel and the Kiel Week in the same year. Many of his advertising posters from this phase contain the signature O Anton, printed like a logo, in some cases with the addition Hamburg. In 1936 he became a member of the SS and from then on designed numerous propaganda posters for the SS and the Waffen SS.