Posters

A poster is any large piece of printed paper which hangs from a wall or other such surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly textual. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and convey information. more...

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Posters may be used for many purposes, and they are a frequent tool of advertisers (particularly of events, musicians and films), propagandists, protestors and other groups trying to communicate a message. Posters are also used for reproductions of artwork, particularly famous works. Another type of poster are educational posters, which may be about a particular subject for instructive purposes. Related to these are academic or conference posters, which are often used at conferences to communicate about research studies or academic projects. In addition to serving the above purposes, posters are also used for decorating purposes, especially by young people, since posters are generally low-cost compared to original artwork. Many people also collect posters, and some famous posters have themselves become quite valuable. The most conventional size for graphical posters tends to be around 24 by 36 inches, though posters may be nearly any size. Much smaller printed advertisements are typically known as handbills or flyers.

Poster history

Posters, in the form of placards and posted bills, have been used for a long time, primarily for advertising and announcements. Purely text posters have a long history: they advertised the plays of Shakespeare and made citizens aware of government proclamations for centuries. However, the great revolution in posters was the development of printing techniques that allowed for cheap mass production and printing, including notably the technique lithography which was invented in 1796 by the German Alois Senefelder. The invention of lithography was soon followed by chromolithography, which allowed for mass editions of posters illustrated in vibrant colors to be printed.

By the 1890s, the technique had spread throughout Europe. A number of noted artists created poster art in this period, foremost amongst them Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Jules Chéret. Chéret is considered to be the "father" of advertisement placards. He was a pencil artist and a scene decorator, who founded a small lithography office in Paris in 1866. He used striking characters, contrast and bright colors, and created over 1000 advertisements, primarily for exhibitions, theatres, and products.

Paris cabaret bills created by Toulouse-Lautrec in the late 19th century followed, and becamely widely famous for their style. Alphonse Mucha is another famous poster designer of this generation, known for his Art Nouveau style and stylized figures, particularly of women. Advertisement posters became a special type of graphic art in the modern age.

Many posters have had great artistic merit and have become extremely collectible. These include the posters advertising World's Fairs and Colonial Exhibitions.

Read more at Wikipedia.org