What’s in a cocktail? Spirits, of course. These charming images were printed on cocktail napkins made by Leacock & Co Inc, a company whose history on the island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean goes back to 1760.

The company established offices in New York in 1924 and sold embroidered table linens and accessories to department stores and specialty stores throughout the US.

During the Depression, lasting from 1929 to 1939, sales manager and president Robert S. Benepe kept his staff in employment, although he did ask everyone to take a 10% pay cut in 1938 when there was a recession within the Depression.

After WWII, Leacock and Co Inc added designer lines of table linens to its catalogue – including these Spirits images which we believe were created by Marjorie Benepe, a commercial illustrator and wife of Robert S. Benepe.

By the 70s, fine linens were going out of fashion because of the increasingly casual lifestyle of the American consumer who preferred less formal dining and the difficulty of finding cleaners who could correctly launder these items.

Leacock and Co Inc ceased trading in the 1980s.

Information courtesy of Craig Benepe.

Courtesy Private Collection.

Gallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson K3 archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing.

All printed in USA.

Each product is accompanied by a copy of the interior menu where available.