Mad Men: Soviet Style. Beautiful advertising posters from the USSR.
posted by grumblebee on Nov 4, 2009 - 54 comments

Ephemera Assemblyman a weblog. Personal favorites: Film Poster Paintings from Ghana :: Magician Souvenir Programs :: Abraham Lincoln Political Cartoons :: (The Art of) Spanish Rolling Papers :: Tickets from Political Conventions. Much more to be explored.
posted by Ufez Jones on Aug 28, 2009 - 18 comments

"Pryde and I came across it one day in an old stable, on a sack of fodder. It is a good, hearty, old English name, and it appealed to us, so we adopted it immediately." That's how The Beggarstaffs, a short lived but influential paring of graphic designers, got their name. [more inside]
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Jun 16, 2009 - 9 comments

Travel Posters — a Flickr set from the Boston Public Library. "Combining superb illustration and hand-drawn typography, they produced dazzling images in rich vibrant colors rendered through the magic of stone lithography." (via)
posted by netbros on Jun 6, 2009 - 15 comments

Graphic Design Is: 50 Designs About Graphic Design
posted by The Whelk on May 9, 2009 - 26 comments

Peace and War in the 20th Century is an ambitious, in progress, massive assemblage of posters, photographs, propaganda, ephemera, letters, diaries, paintings, sketches, stories, letters, music and related items, from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The collection is international in scope. Some of the nodes lack content, and the navigation is a little confusing, so the jump I list some of my favourite case studies from their site. [more inside]
posted by Rumple on Jan 2, 2009 - 4 comments

60 Concert Posters From Ten Amazing Artists. Warning! All 60 images are on the one page so this page might take a while to load.
posted by Effigy2000 on Sep 28, 2008 - 30 comments

The Munich Olympics through Otl Aicher and his teams’ iconic designs. Amazing posters, cute mascot and even tickets that look great. Not to forget the medals.
posted by dabitch on Aug 8, 2008 - 13 comments

Legendary artist Alton Kelley created a graphic style that rocked the world beginning in the psychedelic sixties. His concert posters, logo designs, LP album covers, and fine art have forevermore defined that time. Kelley passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, June 1, 2008 of complications from a long illness.
posted by terrapin on Jun 2, 2008 - 18 comments

Use your library. Make more GIF files. Trust the process. Make art - it's good for your heart. from advice to sink in slowly.
posted by divabat on Jan 24, 2008 - 8 comments

FillCell is a sort of graffiti wall of mini-posters drawn with very simple tools (to impressive effect, in some cases). Flash - drag the background to see more of the wall.
posted by Wolfdog on Jan 4, 2008 - 1 comment

The Color of Top Grossing Movies. A movie’s theatrical poster is only a very small part of the larger marketing and hype machine that turns movies into spectacular blockbusters, but as part of a whole, they are fairly representative of the “image” of any given movie. So, as an exercise in color trends, and to see if any significant pattern emerged, I decided to break down the colors of 25 posters — the top 5 of each MPAA category.
posted by brain_drain on Sep 12, 2007 - 35 comments

A Soviet Poster A Day delivers what it promises, one propaganda rich helping of Soviet art every day to help you on your daily doings.
posted by jonson on Aug 20, 2007 - 14 comments

Posters, posters, OMG Posters!
posted by ColdChef on Jul 8, 2007 - 12 comments

Mefite Fans of rock concert posters are probably familiar with gigposters.com, but here's an interesting list of over 20 other individual designers concert posters sites with tons of designy goodness.
posted by jonson on Jun 21, 2007 - 21 comments

Striking photographs of the masked wrestlers of Mexico, Lucha Loco by Malcolm Venville. [via the amazing everlasting blort] [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Feb 3, 2007 - 14 comments

Japanese Medical Prints. Part of the Clendening History of Medicine Library, at the Kansas University Medical Center, and donated by Dr. Matthew Pickard. The digital collections at the Clendening Library also include Florence Nightingale's letters, old school Chinese public health posters, and images from old medical and natural history texts.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Jan 4, 2007 - 5 comments

Winners of an international poster competition to raise awareness about prostitution (probably NSFW). Quanto "wants to arouse new reflections to bring forward a topic that tends more and more to hide and become unconspicuous," by "attempting to explore the meaning of the word "prostitution" both from a moral and a sexual standpoint." 200 more entrants. the via is also teh NSFW .
posted by Rumple on Nov 20, 2006 - 26 comments

Chinese Public Health Posters from the 1930s to SARS. [via]
posted by mediareport on Nov 8, 2006 - 9 comments

Underground Wonderland The RISD Museum is hosting a retrospective of Providence's DIY marketing approach to underground shows. The exhibit, with every wall plastered from floor to ceiling, feels like a time-capsule. Fort Thunder and its associated bands has been mentioned here on the blue before, but the sense of community that comes through, and which still runs through Providence's subcultures thanks to individuals like Ryan Lesser and his "Lots of Noise" site deserves yet another post. Be sure to check out the Lots of Noise image and photo gallery for more fun stuff. (No direct links, sorry!)
posted by stagewhisper on Oct 9, 2006 - 7 comments

World War II Posters from the large collection at the Northwestern University Library.
posted by Gamblor on May 30, 2006 - 19 comments

The Memory of The Netherlands is an extensive digital collection of illustrations, photographs, texts, film and audio fragments from a large variety of Dutch cultural institutions. There are about 50 collections (in english).
posted by peacay on Feb 19, 2006 - 7 comments

The World in Pieces. During the early 1960s, Mimmo Rotella (who just died in Milan at age 87) went around Europe collecting strips of advertising posters that had been pasted over and torn away many times. He also tore at posters (warning: big file) himself in a rebellious act of desecration to create the works he called decollages. More inside.
posted by matteo on Jan 14, 2006 - 4 comments

This Gallery of Posters from Exploitation Movies is far too brief, but is still better than not having ANY exploitation movie posters. Apparently the gallery is just a teaser for an exhibit & a book.
posted by jonson on Sep 14, 2005 - 9 comments

Vintage & Retro Posters
French/Italian
Marc Chagall
Old Movie Posters via
posted by peacay on Jul 12, 2005 - 8 comments

Circus Museum : vintage circus posters
posted by crunchland on Jul 9, 2005 - 9 comments

Page after page of late 50s/early 60s pop posters, advertisements and more, designed by the studio of Lefor-Openo, which consisted of Marie-Claire Lefort and Marie-Francine Oppeneau. Via Papel Continuo
posted by iconomy on Jun 29, 2005 - 6 comments

Freedom on the Fence: The Polish Poster. While we're at it: The history and culture of the Polish poster and an analysis of American Films in Polish Posters. Or, if you'd prefer, The Classic Polish Film Poster database (where the Disney/Children's film posters are quite lovely). Also, The Wallace Library at the Rochester Institute of Technology has a fantastic searchable and browse-able database, with many hi-res images. Finally, some other Polish Poster Galleries. (What's that? You want more? You want artist-specific galleries? Okay. Here's work by Mieczyslaw Gorowski, Piotr Kunce, Wieslaw Walkuski, and Jan Sawka. Oh, you wanted Communist-era Polish propaganda posters? Fine. Here ya go.) [previous MeFi discussion on Polish film posters; also, some of the images from these links may be NSFW, depending on how S your W environment is.]
posted by .kobayashi. on Mar 13, 2005 - 10 comments

We all seem to know about Gary Panter: set designer for Pee-Wee's play house and author of the JIMBO comics. His site archives an increasing radius: see his comics, for instance, some Jimbo covers: 1, 2, 3. Or his custom drawings, which are done based on one to three words you supply. The ink drawings: 1, 2, 3 and the sketchbooks are nice, too: 1, 2, 3, 4. Seems like he's everywhere: writing on his blog or that oft remembered manifesto, sometimes being taught or written about. And, as connective tissue, his Screamers design is one of the more well regarded punk images out there. When I think of Panter, I also think of Raymond Pettibon, brother of Greg Ginn (Black Flag/SST). Featured in PBS ART 21 (check out the multi-media), his work graced numerous Black Flag and Minutemen album covers and flyers. Zines also played an early role in his development. Mike Watt's own Hootpage documents some of Ray's art from the summer of 2003. Known for his interplay of image and word, some pieces seem to be in process, but all are still striking. More pieces can be seen at tractor.com. When I think of Pettibon, I sometimes think of Art Chantry. His posters (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) are inspirational and his logos ain't too shabby either. Mr. Chantry has been known to debate the rise and fall of rock and roll graphic design, speak up on issues of the state of graphic design today (as well as Seattle). Some people can't surf, indeed.
posted by safetyfork on Feb 18, 2005 - 30 comments

Imps imparting the secrets of magic : a visual history of a recurring motif through 19th Century magicians' posters. via Airbag : Longboard
posted by elphTeq on Feb 10, 2005 - 11 comments

SA VIGNAC. Welcome to the world of Raymond Savignac, the greatest poster artist of all time, and inventor of the little Bic man. Joyous, naughty, simple, elegant, and beautiful.
posted by Sticherbeast on Dec 7, 2004 - 4 comments

February, 1989.
The U.S.S.R. leaves Afghanistan, a fatwa is issued for Salman Rushdie, Tim Berner-Lee is writing a proposal for something called "hypertext", Salvador Dalí is laid to rest, and Terry Gross interviews William Gibson.
posted by Tlogmer on Nov 27, 2004 - 10 comments

Poster Glory: Antique American Posters.
posted by hama7 on Jun 16, 2004 - 7 comments

Follow the Sun: Australian Travel Posters 1930s - 1960s.
posted by hama7 on Mar 28, 2004 - 7 comments

The Movie Posters of Bob Peak. From the famous to the ridiculous.
posted by gwint on Mar 12, 2004 - 5 comments

China Avant-Garde is a wonderful site for exploring Chinese post Cultural Revolution art, with excellent accompanying texts. Browse the featured artists and see an Exhibition from a Private Collection. Also, Inside Out: New Chinese Art is a beautiful site focusing on this recent "explosion of diverse work that is simultaneously exhilarating and bewildering", and you will find more great examples at Chinese Contemporary (click on the artist's name for information and all thumbnails for that artist), plus marvelous Chinese avant-garde posters at Rene Wanner's poster pages and Who's Who in Chinese Posters, and at the Hochschule der Kuenste, Berlin (view works here).
posted by taz on Jan 19, 2004 - 2 comments

Vintage Poster Art.
posted by hama7 on Oct 29, 2003 - 8 comments

Posters American Style - patriotic posters, posters that preach, commercial posters, events posters, etc.
posted by plep on Aug 21, 2003 - 2 comments

Bob Masse's Rock Posters ~ Thirty-five years of poster art by one of North America's premier poster artists.
posted by crunchland on Jul 11, 2003 - 5 comments

Sandman READ poster Anyone passing through libraries will have seen the series of READ posters, starring any number of actors, sports stars, musicians, and other celebrities. Everyone from Alex Baldwin to WWF wresllers to Yoda have been so honored.

Now you can add a comic character to that list. Neil Gaiman's creation of Morpheus, the Sandman, is now available as a poster. The artwork is by P Craig Russell, who was the artist for an issue of Sandman.
posted by dragonmage on Jun 15, 2003 - 20 comments

gigposters -- a collection of posters created by artists and musicians to advertise their shows and events.
posted by lilboo on Mar 27, 2003 - 4 comments

Graphic Design from the 1920s and 1930s in Travel Ephemera . Amazing collection of posters, road maps, steamship and airline timetables, (more timetables here), post cards, luggage labels (more labels here and here), brochures and more. Seeing this stuff makes me wish I had been born seventy-five years earlier (and with an obscene amount of money.) (Warning: the site is seriously painful to look at, but the content's good. Link via Coudal.)
posted by Vidiot on Mar 19, 2003 - 10 comments

Posters of Toei Yakuza Movies.
posted by hama7 on Mar 4, 2003 - 4 comments

Gigposters.com is a huge gallery of band gig posters, most lovingly silkscreened by hand. It has a good collection of favorites like Art Chantry and Pearl Jam, but also recent upstarts Aesthetic Apparatus. My favorites are on the other end of the musical spectrum, as I have several of the great country posters of Hatch Show Print. What happens when these posters are left up long after the gig? Why, they only become more charming with age.
posted by Stan Chin on Nov 20, 2002 - 16 comments

You probably remember him best for his famous green devil, tempting you with the esoteric delight of evil absinthe^*, or the familiar image of the jester pushing the pleasures of Bitter Campari. Called by some the "father of the modern poster", and even the "father of advertising", Italian-born Leonetto Cappiello created over 1,000 memorable posters during his 40-year career in belle-epoque and fin-de-siecle Paris, and a quick look at a collection of his work quickly reminds us how enduring both his images and his basic concepts have been. (more...)
posted by taz on Nov 4, 2002 - 15 comments

High Art. Rick Griffin's famous flying eyeball poster is considered by many to be the single finest example of San Francisco psychedelic poster art. The image comes from this fabulous motherlode of eye candy that is Paul Olsen's Fillmore and Avalon poster collection. It is the largest and most complete collection of its sort. He would like to sell it as a whole--The Whitney Museum wants to buy it but can't afford it. That should tell you something. Come step behind the Indian bedspread curtain and smell the incense.
posted by y2karl on Oct 10, 2002 - 20 comments

Polish movie posters. The Polish Poster Gallery has a fascinating collection of artist renditions of american movie posters. The collection compares favorably with the 50 Greatest Movie Posters, as listed by Premiere magazine.
(via fark)
posted by patrickje on May 16, 2002 - 8 comments

Attack Of The 50ft. Website! How do you kill a monster that never sleeps?! The monster created by atoms gone wild! All New! Thrills! Shock! Suspense! For your own good, we urge you not to see it alone! See the ghastly ghouls in flaming color! The greatest collection of classic science fiction and horror poster art on the net! Now showing in a browser near you.
This website has not been rated.
posted by riffola on Apr 9, 2002 - 12 comments

"Britney Underground takes you on a tour of poignant urban artistry in a time of crisis." it's a nice collection of graffti from britney spears posters in new york, pretty funny. the negative emails are possibly the highlight.
posted by rhyax on Mar 16, 2002 - 10 comments

Art Fights Back — an exhibit of poster art at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa — displays images dedicated to the memory of September 11 and support of the Unites States and its troops. Seems like a typical thing to do around war time, right?

Take a close look at the actual poster design. Don't they seem rather non-American in their artistic style? In fact, they recall an era of poster design for a dramatically different context than what was typically thought of as U.S. patriotism.
posted by Down10 on Mar 11, 2002 - 39 comments