Posters

A poster is any large piece of paper which hangs from a wall or other such surface. more...

They are a frequent tool of advertisers, propagandists, protestors and other groups trying to communicate a message, and they also see personal use by people, especially the young, who wish to decorate in a relatively low-cost manner.

Text posters

Purely text posters have a long history: they advertised the plays of Shakespeare and made citizens aware of government proclamations for centuries.

Graphical posters

The great revolution in posters was the development of colour lithography which allowed the cheap printing of posters illustrated in vibrant colors. The concept was first developed in France but by the 1890s 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.

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

Other times of great turmoil also produced great posters. The 1960s saw the rise of pop art and protest movements throughout the West; both made great use of posters. Perhaps the most acclaimed posters were those produced by French students during the so-called "événements" of May 1968.

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