Posters as Art and Advertising in the Nineteenth Century

During the nineteenth century designers invented a new form of art and advertising, using what was still a new medium –  colour lithography. They developed a new form of communication that relied primarily on images and set a new direction for modern graphic design. This richly illustrated talk features numerous posters from France, England and other European nations as well as the US, that promoted a wide range of products, services, and entertainments, including books, journals, cafe concerts and circuses; contemporary fashions and department stores; cameras, typewriters, and bicycles, and transportation services like the train. This talk analyzes this rich visual archive of modern life.