100 Years of Illustration

Origins of good design and illustration from Lautrec and Hohlwein

Click on images to enlarge them.

The most outstanding poster designer and illustrator in the early days of lithography was Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1864-1901.

There were others, such as Jules Cheret 1836-1932, and Alfons Mucha 1860-1939. I mention them only because their work has been widely reproduced and flogged by shopping mall poster shops and Internet vendors. I've linked them as an important part of the history of lithography but they were not in the same league as Lautrec, who is a giant and an icon for this period of art history.

Lithography owes its origins to the struggles of an unsuccessful writer, Alois Senefelder 1771-1834, who discovered how to make lithographs in 1796. It was a major accomplishment, the first significant invention in the printing industry since the 15th century. Posters reproduced in color were now possible and bridged the gap between fine art of the galleries and museums and the commercial art of the streets and boulevards.

A Swiss poster of a later period, date and illustrator unknown.

A poster promoting winter travel and sports in St. Moritz, Switzerland, date and illustrator unknown.

Later on, another giant emerged in the person of Ludwig Hohlwein of Munich, Germany, 1874-1949. The link will connect you with examples and comments about his work which were among the first subjects uploaded in this web log.

A poster for travel to Berchtesgarden, Germany, exact date unknown.

A poster promoting travel to Wiesbaden, Germany, exact date unknown.

I don't think anyone could depict exotic women as well as Hohlwein. This ad for chocolate is one of my favorites, exact date unknown.

Tasteful signage in the USA and Denmark, 1955

Time Out for a surgical update.

Thanks, Jack R., Lainey, and all those viewers who sympathized with me over the carpal tunnel surgery.
Here's a photo just taken by my computer showing how insignificant it looks and how well the surgery has healed.

Now, back to our regular programming.

Tasteful signage in the USA and Denmark, 1955

Click on images to enlarge them.

Actually this old Kodachrome was shot on a trip to Maine we took in the summer of 1954.

As was this, just a grab shot with the old rangefinder Contax using film rated at only 10 ASA if I remember correctly. It's amazing how these have held up in comparison to Ektachrome shot years later that faded and the images lost forever.

A painted sign and a gilded eagle carving that were hanging on the wall outside Frank Sylvia's antique shop in Nantucket, June of 1954.

My beautiful young wife mugging for the camera outside the same antique shop. These figureheads were the real thing in those days, before they began being cast in styrofoam.

Nothing could be simpler or more beautiful than this brass sign taken outside a barber shop in Aalborg, Denmark in 1955. It's a basin that was tucked under the chin of a customer being shaved.

A metal sign identifying a post office, also from Aalborg, Denmark, 1955.

More to come, stay tuned.

More great posters from 1955

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There were also many kiosks in Switzerland. This one features a poster advertising cigarettes. The poster below it was purely political with very uninteresting type composition

This one promoted Coca Cola with a fanciful cartoon illustration.

This poster for peace dominates all surrounding images by the use of unique letterforms in a clever design concept.

Enlarged version of the above.

A good example of how stacking excellent design images overwhelms all else in view.

Enlarged version of the above.

Photography wasn't as commonly used in those days as it is now. It's obvious that there was not much design and art direction involved as well. But it was a start and the result is clean and very legible except for the Vote Socialist! which should have been at least legible.

More to come, stay tuned.

Another Carpal Tunnel Surgery

In October of 2004 I was required to wear this cumbersome and itchy brace to counter the onslaught of carpal tunnel syndrome. You can imagine how long I put up with that.

By July of this year I opted for surgery to my left hand. It eliminated the numbness and pain associated with this condition. BTW, those are my granddaughters at an earlier age in the photo behind me.

So today I had the right hand done, and all went as well as before.

A Mind-Blowing Experience -- Design 1955

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London, 1955. Outdoor Advertising at its most blatant. No design to speak of, just a shouting match.

This is street in Paris in the summer of 1955, just ten years after the end of World War II in Europe. Bomb damage to buildings may be seen just behind the poster hoardings used to hide the scars of war. I was 26 years old and had recently completed seven years of reserve military service as an artillery sergeant. These French posters were not particularly impressive and looked similar to work seen at home in the USA and in the UK.

Noticeable amongst all the banal posters was this very competent illustration, "For old age."

These images are scanned from Kodachromes taken with an old rangefinder Contax that I had bought used. I told everyone that it had once belonged to Hitler's nephew. This is from an old damaged Polaroid photo made in 1959 on the deck of the Swedish liner Gripsholm with one of their stewards between my wife and me.

Driving through Italy we came across our first stark and compelling posters for gasoline.

Natural gas products

And motor oil.

The most mind-blowing experience came upon entering Switzerland where poster hoardings seemed to be a true art form. This was a poster for an exhibition in St. Gallen featuring a wonderful illustration.

Lots, lots more to come. I'm scheduled for another carpal tunnel surgery (right hand this time) in a few days so I'll be uploading irregularly. With some luck and speedy healing I should be able to add more material than I have in recent days.

Thanks in advance for your patience.