What is a Vintage Poster?

 

Jules Cheret, Carnaval 1892 Bal Masque. A poster in typical Cheret fashion.
Theophile Steinlen, Le Chat Noir, 1896

Prior to the late 1800's print advertising was restricted to black and white classified text. Through the invention, and then development, of the stone lithographic printing technique by Jules Cheret - the "Maitre de L'Affiche" ('father' or 'master' of the poster) - the world of vintage advertising posters was born. Finally capable of mass-producing advertisements in colour, companies of the day commissioned well-known artists such as Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha, and Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen, to develop their marketing ideas and create striking poster art.

 

The streets of Paris were filled with colour; images of Menier-Nestle, Campari and the Moulin Rouge were brought to life. The advertising phenomenon quickly spread beyond France to the rest of the western world - Italy began producing wonderful posters for the opera and fashion industry, Poland and Russia highlighted political messages, the US specialised in magazine publications and war propaganda, Spain alerted the public to festivals and local bullfighting meets, and even here in Australia, eye catching travel posters encouraged people to "Come see Australia".

Russian poster, "We're innocent of pogroms" 1918 by Vassilii Elkin
Australian poster, "To Australia for 37 pounds", 1921 by Raphael Roussel
United States poster, "I Want You", 1917 by James Montgomery Flagg
  

 

Printing techniques continued to develop beyond WWII. Due to their greater efficiency, offset and silk-screen printing replaced stone lithography as the main method of creating posters. In France, the print advertising tradition continued to dominate due to poster greats such as Savignac and Villemot who produced witty and stylish posters well into the 50's and 60's.


Raymond Savignac and Bernard Villemot joint exhibition poster. These two artists have had the greatest influence on French graphic design since the second world war. Works by these artists represent affordable investment opportunities and even better, incredible poster images!

 

 

 

Posters hanging in a Parisian street in the early 1900's.

These beautiful images were only intended to last the short life of an advertising campaign. Between 100 and 3000 posters were printed on inexpensive paper and placed throughout the city on billboards, subways and the sides of buildings. In a matter of weeks these pieces were torn down or covered with the next advertisement. If not for the endeavours of early collectors, printing houses or the artists themselves, then vintage posters would certainly be a thing of the past. It is these original pieces of beauty and artistic merit that galeriemontmartre brings to you today.

  

Collectivity and Value

Cycles Gladiator, c.1895. Artist Anonymous. At a New York auction house in 1985 sold for $US2090. In 1992 the same poster sold for $US9900 and in 2002 for $US25,300, approximately a 1200% increase in value within 17 years or 71% pa.

The Vintage poster market is not a speculative market like Contemporary art, it’s more like that of fine art, or old stamps and coins. Given the limited number of pieces still in circulation and an ever increasing number of collectors, demand is high and poster prices are steadily rising. Each year vintage poster auctions are held in the USA and Europe, setting the market value for each piece. Auction results show record prices being reached each year. Some factors that affect an individual poster’s value include its rarity, the prominence of the artist, subject matter of the image, condition and the printing method used. These elements make vintage posters a great investment choice. We can advise prospective buyers on the collectable nature of an individual piece, however, our main word of advice is to buy something you love.

 

 

One of Villemot's numerous posters for the Perrier company, Perrier C'est Fou, 1976. Sold for $US500 in 1990 and now has a market value of approximately $US1250-$US1500.
Raymond Savignac's great soap advertising poster, Monsavon au Lait 1949. In 1993 this poster had a value of approximately $US1000 - today it regularly sells in excess of $US3000.
The record holder!! Toulouse-Lautrec's 3-sheet poster for the famous Parisian music hall, the Moulin Rouge, sold for $US241,500 in 1999.

Framing

All our posters have been archival mounted by professional paper conservationists. Each piece is adhered to acid free paper using wheat paste and then attached to linen backing. This process protects the poster and maintains its condition. A linen backed poster can be hung directly onto your wall. In our home we have a number hanging from large bulldog clips. This gives a great industrial look and is obviously an economic display option. If, however, you would really like to showcase your poster we would recommend framing. We have our own archival framer, here in Melbourne, and can arrange an appointment for you. If you choose to use your own, make sure they use UV protected plexi-glass, as opposed to glass. Water and sunlight are the biggest dangers to posters so don’t hang one in direct sunlight or your shower recess!

Size

As previously mentioned, vintage posters were originally designed for advertising on billboards, buses, subways and building walls. To have the desired impact they had to be big! The standard French size, the majority of pieces in our inventory, are 160x120 cm. We do have variations, including small point of purchase pieces 20x10cm to large multi-sheet billboard pieces 240x320cm. Our online catalogue lists the size of each poster. Please let us know if you have a particular space to fill, we will search for the size to suit your needs.

Condition Categories

Vintage Posters were originally printed on cheap paper stock with the intention of short-term display. The poster industry's system for grading condition emphasises the fact that we are dealing with 50-100 year old advertising paper, and a certain amount of wear and tear is to be expected. As long as the poster is a true representation of the original colours, lines and overall design, and any restoration doesn't detract from the basic image, then value is not seriously affected.

Below are the descriptions of each category. We encourage our customers to request a full description of the poster they're interested in, including any flaws, defects and/or restoration undertaken.

Condition A Designates a poster in much the same state as when it was printed; the colours are fresh, there is no significant paper loss or tearing, but there may be some slight blemish, creases or scuffing.
Condition B Designates a poster in good condition. Some restoration (including repaired tears or slight over-painting) may have been undertaken, but it is not noticibly apparent, and there may be slight discolouration and/or fading.
Condition C Designates a poster that is showing some effects of time and/or restoration. Fading and discolouration may be more pronounced, restoration, folds, creases and flaking is more visible, and there may be paper loss or restored losses.
Condition D Designates a poster in poor condition. A significant part of the poster may be missing, including some crucial image area; colours and lines are damaged to the point that a true appreciation of the artist's intent is difficult.