Recently the Berkeley Design Within Reach studio hosted a vintage European posters event in collaboration with Vintage European Posters of Berkeley (vepca.com).

The posters presented to event goers were stunning and bursting with vibrant color, despite their age – some dating back to the mid Twentieth Century and earlier. These posters are works of art — carefully illustrated, then beautifully printed through the painstaking process of stone lithography. They range in size, though my favorite posters are the largest ones. Any of the posters showcased would be suitable as dynamic artwork for a wall expanse large enough to accommodate them.

As a graphic designer, I very much admire the talent of the gifted artists who produced these works – their sense of composition and drawing skill was incredible. I have to wonder, if I were born during that era, would I have worked as a commercial artist, producing such beautiful posters? It would have required the technical lithographic skill, a high level of illustration ability and a keen sense of design and typography. The skill set required to produce these posters is mostly a lost art.

Commercial art posters have been collected since they debuted in the mid Nineteenth Century. The public valued the artistic quality of the posters as they do today. The posters advertised travel, clothing, autos, cigarettes, beverages and much more.

My favorite poster from the event was a French mid-century modern furniture poster. The poster features a bright red Eames/Saarinen shell style chair juxtaposed with a minimal wood cabinet on a bright green background. Overprinted on both is a white circle. This overprinting of white ink can only be appreciated in person. Any beginning student of Adobe Photoshop could replicate the layering of this illustration, but not the visual quality produced by the printing.

Big thanks to Vepca and Berkeley DWR for putting on this posters event and sharing these gorgeous artworks.