A Brief History of Collecting Vintage Posters

We are all familiar with displaying posters as an art form. For some of us it's a flashback to our youth. I still remember the architectural print of the Acropolis my dad bought for me when we lived in Athens. It hung on my wall for years, simply attached directly to the wall, until one Christmas my mom had it professionally framed. I still own it to this day. Of course it fared better than the Star Wars, Michael Jackson and Vancouver Canucks hockey posters long forgotten as we parted ways at some garage sale before a move.

It wasn't until many years later that the poster and I reestablished a relationship, this time it was at a vintage poster gallery in France where I remember being awestruck by what I saw on the walls. The overall beauty, range in styles, colours, and sizes of these posters were incredible. Upon learning that these beautiful, original pieces were made as early as the 1860s, and gaining an understanding of what it took to produce lithographic prints in those days, my appreciation grew further. I couldn’t get over how much cool history was hanging right there for me to ogle at!

The poster market originated in the 1870s thanks to a Parisian artist named Jules Chéret, now commonly referred to as the Father of the Poster. He invented a printing technique called colour lithography that allowed for the rapid and inexpensive production of images with intense colour and rich texture. He produced many beautiful lithos. In the 1890s, the advertising poster market grew speedily, and posters filled the streets of Paris.    

Posted: Dec 14, 2013 | Tagged: collecting, history, vintage posters