FOR A DAD WHO READS
L'Albatros, Baudelaire
The poem every French child learns at school, and that fathers still recite. The great seabird, clumsy on deck, at ease in the storm.
30x40 · 40x50 · 50x70 cm
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Gift guide · Father's Day
Father's Day which poster to give Dad
Rather than one more tie, a text that sounds like him: six French poems and quotes, chosen according to the father who receives them.
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Heure d'été edition
L'Homme et la mer, the poem for the father who watches the horizon
The poem from Les Fleurs du mal, set like the page of a book: Baudelaire's name, the number XIV, the title in capitals, then all four stanzas in full. Printed on thick matte eco-friendly paper.
- 30x40 cm12x16 in
- 40x50 cm16x20 in
- 50x70 cm20x28 in
Printed and shipped from a studio near you: most orders arrive in 5 business days.
Why give a poetry poster for Father's Day?
Because Father's Day is the day of gifts chosen in a hurry. The tie, the socks, the desk gadget come back every year and vanish just as fast. A poster stays on the wall, above a desk or in the entryway, and reminds him every day that someone thought of him.
A poem also says what many fathers and children never say to each other. You do not pick Baudelaire or Apollinaire at random: you pick the text that speaks of his passion, his character, his silences. The gift becomes a way of telling him you know him.
So this guide starts from the father, not the object: the sailor, the man who wears a tie, the epicurean, the reader, the traveler, the reserved one. For a dad who mostly loves words, our guide gift ideas for a dad who loves words offers other paths.
Which poster should you give a dad who loves the sea?
L'Homme et la mer, by Charles Baudelaire. Its first line is one of the most famous in French poetry, and it speaks straight to him: “Homme libre, toujours tu chériras la mer !” (Free man, you will always cherish the sea!) The poem makes the sea a mirror in which man contemplates his soul, as deep and as secret as the water.
1857
Les Fleurs du mal
first edition
first edition
It is the gift for the father who sails, who fishes, who walks for hours along the coast or still dreams of setting off. The whole text fits in four stanzas, so it can be read at a glance. To discover it before giving it, read L'Homme et la mer, the full text.
Homme libre, toujours tu chériras la mer !Charles Baudelaire · Les Fleurs du mal · 1857
La mer est ton miroir ; tu contemples ton âme
Dans le déroulement infini de sa lame,
Et ton esprit n'est pas un gouffre moins amer.
Free man, you will always cherish the sea! The sea is your mirror; you contemplate your soul in the endless unrolling of its waves, and your mind is no less bitter an abyss.
And for a dad who wears a tie?
The tie, but as a poem. La Cravate et la montre (The Tie and the Watch) is one of Guillaume Apollinaire's most famous calligrams: the words draw a tie and, beside it, a watch whose dial counts off the hours. The text opens with advice any father in a suit will appreciate: take off this “cravate douloureuse” (painful tie) and finally breathe.
It is the perfect nod to the most expected Father's Day gift, with a real twentieth-century poem as a bonus. It belongs in a study, above a work table, wherever one checks the time too often.
Which poster should you give an epicurean dad?
“Dieu n'avait fait que l'eau, mais l'homme a fait le vin.” God had only made water, but man made wine. The line really is Victor Hugo's: it appears in “La Fête chez Thérèse,” a poem from Les Contemplations, where a comedy character, the lord Pantalon, calls it out in the middle of a party. Set in capitals on a terracotta ground, it has the color of an old floor tile or a wine barrel.
It is a poster for a kitchen, a wine cellar or a home bar, for the father who chooses the Sunday wine and tells its story at the table. It also suits a father-in-law you are still getting to know: the subject is universal, the humor light, the gift impossible to get wrong.
And for a dad who reads, travels or keeps his feelings to himself?
Three more ideas, for three characters. All come in 30x40, 40x50 and 50x70 cm (12x16, 16x20 and 20x28 in).
FOR A DAD WHO TRAVELS
Lettre-Océan, Apollinaire
A letter shaped like a sun, addressed by Apollinaire to his brother Albert, who had left for Mexico, and published in 1914. The calligram for the man who always has a suitcase ready.
30x40 · 40x50 · 50x70 cm
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FOR A RESERVED DAD
Chaque homme dans sa nuit, Hugo
“Chaque homme dans sa nuit s'en va vers sa lumière.” Each man, in his night, goes toward his light. For the father who says little and keeps going anyway: a line from Victor Hugo's Les Contemplations, on lilac stripes.
30x40 · 40x50 · 50x70 cm
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Which size should you choose for Father's Day?
The size depends on the wall where the poster will end up, and that is often the wall of his study. Prices appear in your currency on each print's page.
30x40
The study or workshop wall, 12x16 in
The size for a work wall, often narrower than a living room wall. It slips into an off-the-shelf frame and stays legible from the armchair.
40x50
The entryway or hallway, 16x20 in
Large enough to be read in passing, discreet enough to impose nothing on the rest of the house.
50x70
The living room, 20x28 in, the gift from all the children
Above a sofa or a dresser, a whole poem reads from across the room. It is the size for a shared gift, when brothers and sisters go in on it together.
5 days
When should you order?
Printed and shipped from a studio near you: most orders arrive in 5 business days. Father's Day falls on the third Sunday of June (June 20 in 2027): ordering the week before leaves time to frame it.
Where should you hang L'Homme et la mer?
Wherever one dreams of setting off: above the desk, facing the window, in a house by the sea. Four stanzas of alexandrines read in a single glance, and at 50x70 cm the white space around the text feels like a horizon.
The text, set like the page of a book, goes with wood, linen, white or blue walls. It is the poem you reread without tiring of it, the way you go back to look at the sea.
Heure d'été edition
Food for eyes & soul.
See more creationsFrequently asked questions
Which poster should I give Dad for Father's Day?
A poem tied to what he loves: Baudelaire's L'Homme et la mer for a father who loves the sea, Apollinaire's La Cravate et la montre for the man who wears a tie, Victor Hugo's “Mais l'homme a fait le vin” (But man made wine) for an epicurean.
Which poster should I give a dad who isn't into decor?
A text rather than an image: a line about his passion becomes a nod, not a decorating choice. It reads like a dedication and suits every wall.
Which size works for a study or a workshop?
30x40 cm (12x16 in) suits a study wall, often narrower than a living room wall. 40x50 cm (16x20 in) still works if there is room above the desk.
When should I order for Father's Day?
Father's Day falls on the third Sunday of June. Printed and shipped from a studio near you: most orders arrive in 5 business days, so ordering the week before leaves time to frame it.
Should I frame the poster before giving it?
It is not essential. The poster is sold on its own, in standard sizes that fit off-the-shelf frames: a simple black or natural wood frame lets him hang it right away.
Last year's tie is already at the back of a drawer. Give him a text he will keep on the wall.
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