Label from a bottle of Zug Kirsch 1980
The front of the square label shows a quirky painting of a duck in the middle; standing on a mound of some kind, it has its head held back and is looking towards the sky while balancing a Victoria ladybird on its beak. The caption to the left and right of the ladybird reads “victoria 80”. The artist’s signature “Schiavo”, seen on the right-hand side of the mound, is that of Elso Schiavo (born in 1934). The text along the right edge includes the alcoholic content: “GENUINE POTSTILLED ZUG KIRSCH 42 VOL”
The label shows the stylised ladybird of the Victoria Werke AG furniture factory, which was in use from 1958 to 1980, before being replaced by a new company logo which consisted of the words “Victoria Design”. One of the reasons for the change was that the company was trying to gain a foothold in the international market and it was hoped that the name change, and the keyword “design” in particular, would help to increase sales abroad. Dropping the ladybird from the logo was done specifically for customers in Arab countries.
Between 1976 and 1980, the Baar artist Elso Schiavo (born on 10th August 1934) was asked to create a label every year for the bottles of Kirsch the company Victoria Werke AG presented to their best customers at Christmas. Schiavo also designed the Victoria catalogues from 1958 to 1964 and created the new company logo for the Baar Victoria Werke AG in 1956/1957, a stylised red ladybird with two black spots. On 26th September 2003 he received the Culture Prize from the municipality of Baar for his charitable work for children and people with disabilities and for his contributions to village culture. Quirky mythical creatures are a signature feature of Schiavo’s work.
