The Dam Busters Poster
Vintage 1950s British Posters
Paper
Vintage 1950s Swedish Posters
Paper
Recent Sales
Vintage 1950s British Posters
Paper
Vintage 1960s British Posters
Paper
People Also Browsed
20th Century French Vases
Crystal
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Posters
Paper
Late 20th Century American Brutalist Chairs
Iron
20th Century Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s Impressionist Portrait Prints
Etching, Aquatint
20th Century Polish Posters
Paper
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Antique 19th Century French Art Nouveau Posters
Paper
20th Century American Posters
Linen, Paper
1940s American Modern Portrait Prints
Lithograph
1920s Figurative Paintings
Oil
Vintage 1960s British Mid-Century Modern Posters
Linen, Paper
Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Posters
Paper
Early 19th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Other Art Style Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Vintage 1940s English Posters
Paper
Finding the Right Posters for You
Add a welcome personal touch to your space and tie your distinctive interior scheme together by introducing antique and vintage posters to any and every room of your home.
In the late 19th century, following the advent of text-heavy posters printed from woodblocks for use in taverns and shop windows, hand-drawn poster art had become commonplace in regions such as France, England and the United States. Well-known illustrators were commissioned to produce decorative posters to advertise political campaigns, theatrical events, books, household goods and other items. Early poster artists used a printmaking technique called lithography, which sees drawings or paintings created on a stone (or metal) surface with an oil-based substance, such as a greasy crayon or tusche (an oily wash). The image is eventually affixed to the surface by means of a chemical reaction, and ink adheres to certain sections of the surface while non–image areas are made to repel the ink.
If you wanted a color lithograph in the early days, the number of stones prepared had to match the number of colors you commissioned for the poster. French painter Jules Chéret, widely known as the father of the modern poster, designed some of history's most popular lithographic posters that featured color. Today, Chéret’s art is highly collectible, along with original works by Czech painter and decorative artist Alphonse Mucha, whose posters advertising theatrical productions helped define Art Nouveau.
Over time, poster artists transitioned to more advanced techniques. Using silkscreens, woodblocks and photolithography, painters and illustrators printed larger quantities at a faster rate.
If you’ve finally tracked down that vintage movie poster, mid-century modern promotional travel poster or other work and you’re looking to find out if it is valuable, distinguishing between an original poster and a reproduction can be complicated. A professional appraiser can work with you on factors such as rarity, assessing the physical condition of your poster and authenticating your piece. For now, take care of your new acquisition because conserving posters is essential in helping them retain their value. A practical conservation method is to have the work mounted on archival, acid-free paper and thin artist’s canvas, then enclosing it in a sturdy frame. (And here is a primer on how to hang wall art, be it arranged gallery-style or otherwise.)
On 1stDibs, find all kinds of posters for your home today.
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