The World in Prints

Thanks to the invention of lithography, from 1880 on, the poster became a dominant form of advertising in Europe, Great Britain, and the United States. Although originally meant to be ephemeral, because of their timeless beauty, these works have now become iconic. Here are the most beautiful and eye-catching of those vintage posters, including Toulouse-Lautrec's and Alphonse Mucha's exquisitely embellished paintings of pretty girls; daring and elaborate images with commercial and promotional messaging that arose at the start of the twentieth century; early avant-garde designs that reflected an unsettled world in the 1920s and '30s--including ads for cinemas and sporting events; the streamlined, more graphic designs that emerged after WWI; and the phenomenally creative surrealist, airbrushed, and Swiss images created during a period of social upheaval and geared to a more sophisticated public.

From 1880 on, the poster became a dominant form of advertising in Europe, Great Britain, and the United States. Here are the most beautiful and eye-catching of those vintage posters, ranging from Toulouse-Lautrec's and Alphonse Mucha's exquisitely embellished paintings of pretty girls to daring and elaborate images with promotional messaging, early avant-garde designs from the 1920s and '30s, and phenomenally creative surrealist images geared to a more sophisticated public.