Click to deep-zoom

D.O.M. Bénédictine, Sem, 1910

A waiter carries the bottle like a sacrament.

What

A 1910 poster by the caricaturist Sem for D.O.M. Bénédictine, printed for the Maison de la Bénédictine.

Why

Sem gave the bottle to the man who serves it, and gave him all the dignity of the poster.

Notice

The waiter's chin is up, his eyes half closed, the bottle balanced on a tray at shoulder height, a napkin trailing from the other hand.

“A two-metre portrait of service.”

Format

The full-resolution, color-managed file — restored honestly, yours to print and keep.

Sized to protect print quality — this scan supports sizes up to 40x60" cleanly.

Size

Personalization (title-swap) is coming to this piece — join the house list to hear first.

$29.00

Provenance

Live mark — art history only

Artist: Sem
Printer: Maison de la Bénédictine
Country: France
Format: Poster (affiche)
Piece published: D. O. M. Benedictine, affiche, 1910
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica) · BnF btv1b9012487h

View the public source record ↗

Scan: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Gallica; public domain. Hosted on Wikimedia Commons.

Rights: CLEAR. Public domain — U.S. 95-year rule (piece published 1930 or earlier). Gated by the piece’s own publication year, never a brand’s founding year. Cleared by registry on 2026-11-01. Published 1910, before the 1930 cutoff; maker Sem (1863-1934). Illustrateur; Commons reads Public domain with {{CC-Zero}} {{Cc-zero}} {{Gallica}} {{PD-US}} {{SDC-PD-US}}. BnF Gallica scan: BnF asks for a licence for commercial reuse of its reproductions; flag for legal sign-off (the house already sells seven Gallica scans). Live mark (Bénédictine), flagged in drink.markStatus; nominative title only.

Bénédictine is a live mark, still on shelves today. This piece is sold strictly as art history — not as marketing, endorsement, or affiliation.