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Page 14          The Antique Shoppe            March, 2018
                                     POSTERS OF THE AMERICAN STAGE


        by Roy Nuhn


           Posters are best described simply   were the first to                                  publisher and        in every city and hamlet on the circuit.
        as enticing lithographic messages,   realize the aesthetic                                advertiser copied    The same was true for the many circuses
        even though those printed since the   possibilities of                                    the idea and         touring the country. Later, Hollywood
        earliest years of the 20th century   the poster and to                                    untold thousands     took over as the main customer, but this
        were increasingly done by advanced   develop its potential.                               of posters were      was not until the late 1920s.
        photo-electric means. A poster can be                                                     produced for every     Poster designing to advertise
        as small as a picture postcard or as    1890s poster for "A                               conceivable kind     theatrical productions during the first
                                                 Rag Baby." Printer
        large as an outdoor billboard. Though   was the legendary                                 of product. Soon     two decades of the 20th century was
        sizes vary up to 42 x 84 inches, they   Strobridge Lith. Co. of                           America was          responsible for employing the largest
        are commonly 20 x 30 inches. Circus          New York. →                                  captivated with the   number of America’s best artists.
        posters from their earliest days until                                                    poster and went      The big names were allowed to sign
        recent times came as one-sheets (28                                                       crazy over the       their artwork and it is these artist-
        x 42 inches) and other sizes up to      A long running                                    new fad. The peak    signed posters that have evolved
        100-sheet size which were panoramas   musical comedy on                                   years according      into being much sought after by
        spread across the entire wall of city   Broadway, this poster                             to some observers    poster art collectors. In fact, since
                                               was created for its
        buildings and railroad depots.         last production in                                 of the scene were    most of these men and women free
           Mention the word “poster” and           1908.↓                                         1895 and 1896,       lanced their talents among all paper
        most of us conjure up visions of                                                          when the best        ephemera producers, specialists in
        Toulouse-Lautrec’s showgirls of the                                        posters were actively preserved,    Paper Americana of all types have
        Moulin Rouge or Montgomery                                                 traded, bought and sold. Posters    gravitated towards the poster.
        Flagg’s legendary “I Want You for                                          achieved a status closely akin to that   The artist at work during the “Gay
        the. U.S. Army.” Posters, however,                                         of rare coins. It was also in 1896 that   Nineties,” and afterwards, had to rely
        were in reality a major medium                                             an unknown artist, Maxfield Parrish,   upon several methods to construct
        of advertising and propaganda in                                           won The Century Company’s poster    his or her poster. Sometimes, the
        those long-ago years before the                                            competition.                        play’s manuscript, along with some
        advent of television or radio. Most                                          Poster collectors can choose      photographs and a list of preferred
        Americans lived their entire lives                                         from among many categories. One,    scenes, was given the artist. A small
        surrounded by posters wherever they                                        however, the American theater, has   sketch was made and submitted to the
        went. Though originally conceived                                          long commanded a lot of attention.   producers or director for approval.
        for such utilitarian and transitory                                        Broadly considered, such a topic    Then the details were worked into
        purposes, they developed into objects                                                                          this basic design. Using a lantern,
        of irresistible, decorative appeal and                                                                         many artists threw the illustration
        into a great collectible.                                                                                      upon a canvas, where it was painted
           Undoubtedly the American                                                                                    in the size of the finished poster.
        poster’s ancestry can be traced                                                                                It was now ready to be transferred
        back directly to the broadsides of                                                                             to the stones, the heart and soul of
        Colonial days used by merchants to                                                                             lithography.  The mediums used in
        advertise their wares and services.     From France the idea spread to                                         such printing were oils, water colors,
        The poster movement in Europe        England and then to this country,                                         and pastels. Craftsmen worked with
        also contributed a great deal to its   where Edward Penfield took up the                                       oil crayons upon the stones. The
        eventual popularity in America.      challenge. Consider the founding                                          men who finalized the designs of the
        Use of posters in this country was   father of American poster art,                                            original artists were almost always
        common in the years before 1870,     Penfield used his position as Harper’s                                    Germans or German-Americans.
        but they were an uninspiring lot with   Magazine’s Art Director to convince                                    Fortunate was the artist who could
        little illustration and generally poor   his bosses to experiment with                                         himself transfer his work to the
        quality production.                  issuing small posters each month to                                       stones; he or she then had full control
           All of this changed during the    advertise the magazine. Penfield did                                      over their own works.
        1880s and posters swiftly emerged as   the artwork                                      ↑  Archie Gunn poster    The posters were now ready to be
        fashionable and treasured advertising   and they first                                   (early 20th century).  positioned into special holders inside
        ephemera. This was due primarily     appeared for                                                              and outside of the theater - be it on
        to advancements in lithography,      the April 1893                                      ← A 1907 theatrical   Broadway in New York City or some
        which permitted not only inexpensive   issue, achieving                                 poster signed Hamilton   small-town “Orpheum” or “Palace”
        printing with color for all types    instant                                                   King.           with seating capacities of the 100
        of commercial needs but their        popularity.                                                               or less. Touring companies, and
        production at the rate of 1,000 per   The practice                                     spans well over a       there were many of them, trekking
        hour. The flowering of the “Golden   endured for                                       century of years since   across the nation from late Victorian
        Age” of American illustration,       five more years                                   the film industry       times to the 1920s, placed them in
        occurring nearly simultaneously, was   with Penfield                                   continues to use        merchant windows all around town.
        another significant factor.          missing only                                      posters even today to     Today, while all posters are highly
           The French were responsible for   twice in getting                                  promote its offerings.   collectible, those connected to the
        the original inspiration to create   out a poster for                                  The theatrical          entertaining arts seem to possess a
        advertisements that were artistic and   each issue.                                    world, starting with    special appeal. Anything dating back
        beautiful as well as functional. Cherat   Thus began                                   vaudeville, had a       to the early years of the American
        is regarded as the “Father of the    the deluge and                                    great need for posters   stage, from the 1890s to 1920s, is
        Poster” because he and his disciples   soon every                                      which could be used     especially in demand.
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