History

The Times 1805 51cm x 38 cm

As I have indicated in a previously with the development of printing technology hand in hand came the development of posters. What is a poster? The Oxford English mini dictionary defines a poster as “a large sheet of paper announcing or advertising something, for display in a public place” and if we see examples of posters from the early 1800's they are simple text, small in size and still printed using moveable metal type. 

 International Exhibition of Antwerp 1885 typo-Lithograph 225cm x 120cm

Later we start to see the influence of lithographic printing.  Images now combined with text and an increase in size. The poster above is over 2 meters by 1. Posters by their very nature are designed to be seen at a distance.

Renine de joie par victor (1892) by Henri de Toulouse -Lautrec, poster to publicise a novel.

In the beginning poster were usually thrown away after they had achieved there intended objective. Some early posters have survived to give us some insight into the societies they represent. Towards the late 1800's in England and France poster began to be valued as collectable works of art.

L'Aureole du midi (1893) by Jules Cheret  advertisement for lamp oil.

Looking at an advertisement from the late 1800's we can see that design and content have become important. The poster has been created to a specific brief and is now developing it's own language to get its message across.

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 At the start of the 1900’s the language of design was utilised in the propaganda created in many nations during the First World War. Each country employed imagery and text that would appeal and generate a reaction in their own countries.  1. Keep the bloody boots off the USA and buy war bonds to help the war effort. 2. The Red army needs your money with Freedom loan. 3. British propaganda to encourage men to leave their families and go to war.