Original Work Incentive Poster - The Perfect Finish

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About the Item

The Mather Work Incentive Posters were printed in Chicago between 1923 and 1929 and were designed to improve worker productivity and curb turnover during a time of economic expansion and plentiful jobs. While the posters can be seen as workplace propaganda, they are perhaps most interestingly viewed as a visual expression of the idealism and optimism of the rising nation. President Calvin Coolidge pithily summed up in two sentences the ideology of the era in his 1925 speech to the Society of American Newspaper Editors: "The chief business of the American people is business...The chief ideal of the American people is idealism." This attitude sparked a movement known as Welfare Capitalism, in which employers voluntarily offered incentives such as reduced hours, higher wages, health insurance, and paid vacations in return for greater productivity and worker loyalty, while blunting the arguments of labor unions and socialists. Charles Mather, a Chicago-based printer seeking to use up excess capacity, saw opportunity in the movement and started selling factory owners subscriptions to his poster series. The annual "campaigns" found ready acceptance in a workplace accustomed to Madison Avenue advertising techniques in government production posters recently seen during World War I. Mather's series however, was the first widespread employer sponsored program with the goal of corporate success and employee development. Employers changed the posters weekly based on current events, holidays or factory problems. A catalog organized the posters by theme, with cautionary categories ranging from laziness, responsibility, mistakes, and rumors to fire prevention and even practical joking. With their fresh graphics, surprising metaphors and over-the-top but thought-provoking platitudes, the posters demanded attention Mather created approximately 350 different images in seven annual campaigns before the series ended abruptly with the stock market crash in October of 1929. By January 1930, jobs were increasingly hard to find, and employers did not have the funds or the need to motivate workers as they had in the Twenties. The traditional American virtues this poster promotes are as relevant today as they were 80 years ago and represent a unique chapter in American advertising and economic history.

Creator:
Frank Beatty (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 48.5 in (123.19 cm)Width: 41 in (104.14 cm)
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1929
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Near fine (A-) small tears in margins, backed on linen. Framed.
Seller Location:
Los Gatos, CA
Reference Number:
Seller: 109201stDibs: LU8553855367

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