Posters History

POSTERS HISTORY 

First there was the town crier, literally a "walking newspaper." His role was critical: singing out on every corner the latest news, announcing events of public interest, keeping the people informed of everything from burials, weddings, goods for sale, lost objects, and anything of interest. The town crier became outmoded with the advent of printing around 1500 - one of the greatest events in history. Printing made reading and writing spread rapidly, as we turned the page from a word-of-mouth society to one based on text, typography, and the written word. Text announcements, newspapers, and early posters replaced the town crier. Jean-Michel Papillon was one of the first poster artists; his work can be tracked through his signature. In time posters became quite official, requiring approvals, stamps, taxes. Quickly the poster emerged not only as an effective way to announce political events and news items, but also to inform the public about the availability of commercial products. Thus was advertising born.

For a couple hundred years posters were hand-written or hand-printed by artisans, perhaps with descriptive and explanatory diagrams added. They could be laborious and time-consuming to create. In 1798 the printing process known as lithography was invented by Alois Senefelder, at the time an impoverished German actor and playwright. Senefelder came up with the idea of making printers' plates out of limestone. Printing was done by placing ink on a series of stone carvings which are really reliefs of color areas on the poster.

Now prints could be done quickly and cheaply, as materials could be used over and over with no ill effect on the quality of the prints produced. This allowed for the mass production of all shapes and sizes of posters. Effective posters used simple shapes, bright colors, and large designs to be easily discerned at a distance. Jules Cheret, a French painter, was the first to exploit this new art form. By 1866 he had produced 1,000 large colorful posters, rightfully earning him the title of the "Father of the Poster."

During the 1890s in Europe the use of lithography exploded. Artists loved the immediacy and novelty of the method. With so many new disciplines - Realism, Naturalism, Impressionism, Japonisme, Intimism - challenging the stodgy and outmoded art standards of the day, artists found lithography a fresh and exciting alternative to painting. They developed lithography as a way to rebel against the overbearing Salon that refused to show their work. Lithography developed in two formats: commercial (used as posters, publication covers, book illustrations), and as the fine art form of hand-printmaking. French artists like Bonnard, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Vollard made countless striking and beautiful lithograph prints and posters. The posters announced everything from consumer goods to nightclubs. In this time period, the poster enjoyed a heyday never seen before or since. The poster became an innovative art form in its own right.

TOM PURVIS

Tom Purvis was born in Bristol on the 12th June 1888, the son of a Master Mariner later to become a maritime artist. Purvis assisted his father preparing paints. The family was not wealthy but his father financed a first term at Camberwell School of Art, through winning scholarships he was able to stay the course. He studied under Sickert in London and Degas in Paris, the story goes that one day Sickert seized Purvis’s rubber and hurled it through a skylight telling him "bloody well draw". Later he learnt the trade with six years at Mather & Crowther  the advertising agency followed by a stint at the Avenue Press learning about lithography. His first independent poster was for Dewar's Whisky in 1907 when he only nineteen.

The finest designs he did are among those for Austin Reed, the London and North Eastern Railway and Shell. He was now a very successful poster designer adopting a business-like attitude and charging up to £250 for a design. In all his work Purvis was insistent on the closest co-operation with the client before a drawing was started. He would talk over the client's problem with extreme care and thoroughness and then patiently search for the best method of illustrating the "personality of the product" and the purpose of the campaign.

He died almost forgotten in August 1959 and is buried at Buckfast Abbey in Devon. Burt Thomas his old friend and fellow artist of great repute wrote of his art "His posters were the finest that ever appeared on the hoardings. They were real posters, not just show cards enlarged as most posters were in those days. One could take them in at a glance while passing on a bus, which is the test of a good poster". 

AUSTIN REED

Austin Reed, the prestigious international lifestyle brand is synonymous with

superb British style. Established in 1900 by Mr Austin Reed in the City of London,

the Austin Reed brand has long been recognized as the quality name in tailoring.

Today, Austin Reed offers a total wardrobe solution for both men and women.

Today Austin Reed operates licence agreements in USA, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malayasia and India and has over 1,400 stockists around the world.