Designed by Reika Sawa, an early member of the Shiseido design team, this poster advertising Shiseido’s Hydrogen Peroxide Tooth Powder depicts a stylized, elegant blonde holding a camellia and reclining on a chaise lounge. In contrast to the horizontal orientation of the early rōmaji Shiseido logo, the kanji logo runs vertically at the lower left. The kanji text, which is also printed vertically, extols the virtues of hydrogen peroxide as a bleaching agent. Along with Shiseido’s other designers, Sawa realized early on that the successful marketing of such products relied on the selling of illusion through carefully-crafted images of cultivation and grace.

Poster for Hydrogen Peroxide Tooth Powder, 1927
Reika Sawa, designer, Offset, 2 5/8 x 9 1/2 in.