Vintage Art Posters and Lithograph
One of the giants in the study of media theory, Marshall McLuhan once said, “Advertising is the greatest art form of the 20th century”. For decades before the invention of the computer and media software, most of the advertisements that could be found in magazines and newspapers were created by artists using a more traditional approach. Many of the magazine covers themselves were in fact created by hand, as were most of the graphics that could be seen on television. Today, many people regard these vintage art posters as not only a great example of pop art, but also a window into a seemingly less complicated time.
Posterspark.com was created with the soul purpose of promoting vintage art posters and lithograph prints as a collectible form of art. From classic magazine covers to the most well-known company ad campaigns, we believe the artistry and skill that went into these images can and should be appreciated as much as any other famous work of art. We have therefore designed our website to be used as a source of information for anyone that is wants to learn more about classic poster art. We do not endorse any particular company or artist, and the information we provide is as non-biased as possible.
Poster art is largely a product of 20th century marketing and advertising. They are designed to creatively promote a message, whether it be let the public know of an upcoming event or to sell a product. And while its true that printed advertising has been around for many centuries, it wasn’t until the late 19th century and early 20th century that they could be mass-produced. This was primarily due to advances that had been made in color lithography during this period, enabling hundreds of thousands of such posters to be easily replicated in a short amount of time.
Once the primary means of advertising, people all over the world collect these now vintage art posters. For many people, a simple poster print of a once popular soda pop ad is a piece of nostalgic kitsch. Mass-produced prints such as these are often found at a local poster or print shop and are relatively inexpensive to purchase. There are also numerous online specialty retailers that have literally thousands of vintage art posters and prints from which to choose.
However, for the true collector and fan of these masterpieces, only an original will suffice. Many such collectors will spend years searching for a specific work and will pay handsomely for the honor of owning it. Many of the artists producing this type of work would also produce a limited series of lithographs, and these lithographs can often be found for slightly less money than an original work of art. These prints are almost always preserved behind glass and hung in a quality frame.
If you’re looking for any information not covered here, please feel free to peruse the various links we have provided on this webpage. These links provide more detailed information regarding many aspects of vintage art posters and lithographs.