An American in Asia
Dan Sweeney’s Hotel Metropole Hanoi
Dan Sweeney's Hotel Metropole Hanoi
During the 1920s an American helped the leading hotels of Asia to develop a corporate identity of a very special nature.
He was offering his services as a graphic artist creating fine posters, which the hotels used as labels or covers for hotel brochures.
His name was Daniel C. Sweeney. Sweeney was a seasoned illustrator with a track record going back to the San Francisco Chronicle and World Traveler Magazine. He was most likely discovered for Asia by The Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, where he created a poster depicting a Thai dancer. This poster soon graced the 1920s sales brochure of the hotel. Sweeney also drew posters for The Peninsula and the Gloucester Hotel in Hong Kong, the Astor House and the Palace in Shanghai, the Manila Hotel, the Continental Palace in Saigon and the Metropole in Hanoi.
