Name/Title
Advertising desk clip in the form of an oversized clothespin, with liquid-crystal thermometer — Rhône-PoulencEntry/Object ID
2025.1.415Description
Oversized clothespin-form clip in satin-finished light metal, made as two shaped bars pivoting on a pin against a coiled wire spring, in direct imitation of a wooden clothespin at several times scale. Each of the two outer faces carries the same printed device: a black rectangular panel inset in a milled channel along the upper edge, and below it the Rhône-Poulenc logotype — a stylized lowercase-and-capital "rP" monogram over a broken circular arc, followed by the company name. The black panels are the thermometer: a liquid-crystal temperature strip, on which faint printed graduations are visible (a numeral reading 16 survives near the left end of the face in image 1). The gripping ends are plain.Use
A gift to Leopoldo Arús Gálvez from his son in law, who worked for the Ministerio de Agricultura. Leopoldo used it as thermometer and adornment in his bedroom.Context
Corporate promotional object — the kind of desk giveaway distributed to clients, prescribers, distributors, and trade-fair visitors. Rhône-Poulenc was a French chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in 1928 that merged with Hoechst AG in 1999 to form Aventis. Its reach was wide: at its 1960s peak the group comprised some sixty factories in France and more than a hundred thousand employees worldwide, and by the privatization period its roughly 80,000 staff were spread mainly across France, Germany, Switzerland, Britain, the United States, Brazil, Morocco and China.
For the collection's purposes the relevant channel is French commercial contact with Cuba, which continued through the US embargo period; a French pharmaceutical and agrochemical group had obvious business with Cuban public health and agriculture. An item like this would plausibly reach a Cuban physician, pharmacist, or agronomist through a sales representative, a congress, or a trade fair.Collection
The Cabrera Arús family collectionMade/Created
Manufacturer
Rhône-PoulencTime Period
1980sPlace
Country
FranceContinent
EuropeNotes
Rhône-Poulenc is the advertiser, not the manufacturer. The clip itself was made by an unidentified promotional-goods supplier, almost certainly French.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Notes
Logotype: stylized rP monogram set over a broken circular arc
RHÔNE·POULENC (interpunct between the two words as shown)Parts
1 piece, composed of:
Body, upper bar (1)
Body, lower bar (1)
Spring, coiled wire (1)
Pivot pin (1)
Thermometer strip (2 — one per face)Materials
Material
Metal, aluminumMaterial Notes
Body: light metal with a satin/bead-blasted finish, most likely aluminum — INFERRED from color, finish, and the lack of corrosion on the bars; could also be a zinc alloy or anodized finish. Weight in the hand would settle it immediately. Spring and pin: steel (INFERRED — the spring shows red-brown corrosion). Thermometer: cholesteric liquid-crystal layer in a plastic laminate (INFERRED).Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
José A. Cabrera PérezPerson or Organization
Leopoldo Arús GálvezRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaPlace
Country
FranceContinent
EuropeResearch Notes
Notes
⚠️ What I could not find, and it matters: no source dating the "rP"-and-arc logotype, or naming its designer or agency. This is the single best remaining dating lever on the object — corporate identities are usually well documented, and a datable logo would likely close the question. My searches in French for the visual identity returned only logo-download sites with no dates. Recommended: the Rhône-Poulenc corporate archives, whose board deliberations are cited in the scholarly literature; the successor holders are Sanofi (pharma) and Solvay/Rhodia (chemicals). A design-history library or the collection of the Musée de la Publicité (Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris) would also likely hold dated Rhône-Poulenc campaign material.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
August 1, 2026Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
August 30, 2026