Blotter advertising the Bic Cristal ballpoint pen

Advertising blotter (do you remember blotting paper?) with a design by the French poster artist Raymond Savignac. Developed in France by Marcel Bich, the Bic pen was put on the market in December 1950. Savignac started  doing work for the Bic firm in 1952.  The mention ‘d’après Savignac' suggests that the design for the blotter was done in-house using elements designed by Savignac.

Ink blotters printed with advertising of all sorts were ubiquitous in the first half of the twentieth century. Roughly postcard sized, they were used to sell everything from soap to politicians. It is ironic that they were also used to sell ballpoint pens which largely wiped out fountain pens. It is a pity that the remarkably well-designed and demurely elegant Bic is a plastic throwaway.