1930s Posters

Presented is a signed lithographic poster entitled “The Signing” by Howard Chandler Christy. “The Signing” is an allegorical rendering of the signing of the Constitution of the United States and our nation’s history and progress in the 150 years since the signing. Howard Chandler Christy signed and inscribed the poster in the bottom right corner. In 1936, representative Sol Bloom, the director general of the United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission, proposed that a painting be commissioned as part of the 150th anniversary of the Constitution. Howard Chandler Christy created three iterations of paintings for the Sesquicentennial Commission. Christy painted the first painting, “We the People,” in 1936. A year later, Christy painted a second painting titled “The Signing.” After two more years of congressional debate, Christy was finally commissioned in 1939 to create his final painting, a 20-by-30-foot framed oil-on-canvas scene of the signing, currently on display in the east grand stairway of the House wing of the U.S. Capitol. The 1937 painting was issued as a commemorative lithographic poster by the United States Constitutional Sesquicentennial Commission, as presented here. The poster and the original 7’ x 5’ oil canvas were first exhibited in December 1937 at the Grand Central Fifth Avenue Galleries. At the exhibit opening Christy explained, “I wanted the painting to be accurate in every detail because I feel deeply the meaning the Constitution holds for every American.” A 1937 order form listing items that could be purchased for the upcoming Sesquicentennial indicates that this particular “Official Poster” came in three different sizes- Small 12” x 14-1/2”, Medium 24” x 27”, and Large 42” x 38” and originally sold via mail order for 5¢, 10¢ & 25¢ cents respectively. “The Signing” is an artistic representation of the signing of the Constitution of the United States with strong allegorical references to core American values and renderings of our 150 year history since its inception. The bottom two thirds of the image depict the signing of the Constitution at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787. George Washington is the most prominent figure; he stands on the platform next to Richard Spaight of North Carolina, who is signing the document. Benjamin Franklin is seated at center, with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison nearby. The other delegates populate the room, depicted in stirring conversation with each other. The top of the composition is filled with allegorical renderings. At center is a shining Lady Liberty standing with open arms and a golden scroll of “We the People” unfurling below her. At right, is a female personification of Blind Justice...

1930s original French Georges Redon Sainte-Maxime travel poster, this original poster has been professionally restored. Linen backed and ready for framing.

Presented is a vintage poster for the Will Rogers Memorial fund. The poster was designed by famed poster artist Howard Chandler Christy. The poster, an original color lithograph, was...

This is a vintage, first edition rail poster by artist Walter Calvert, printed for the Pennsylvania Railroad, circa 1955. The Pennsylvania Railroad was founded in 1846. Commonly re...

This calendar poster from the 1930s was produced for Hataman Cigarettes by one of the most acclaimed Chinese commercial advertising artists of the era, Hu Boxiang. He portrays the fa...

This poster, an advertisement for Hataman Cigarettes from the 1930s, melds the meticulous detail of traditional Chinese painting with the craft of color lithography. This advertisement depicts a fashionable woman in traditional Chinese dress...

In the 1930s, when this vintage advertisement for Brunner Mond’s Powder Fertilizer was printed, Chinese markets were expanding and industrializing. English fertilizer companies (like...

Antique poster of gypsy fortune teller title Maina Juan from the 1930s. Newly framed with linen mat. Artist Harford.

This is a bright and beautiful poster depicting the trapeze artist Thressa Morales. The poster has great graphics showing how she would complete a somersault through space. Also just to make things as clear as can be poster artists provided a dashed line with arrows to show the path. Thressa Morales was well known for her heel catching trick.
This wonderful circus poster...

Dark red color is from the ink that was used during the printing process. Please note that this does read backwards. Great in a room with a mirror on another wall that reads it in th...

These double sided vibrantly painted wood panels depict two life sized happy gnomes and the Poll Parrot mascot, the Scarlet Macaw. The reverse features the...

Original Coney Island side show banner from Sam Wagners World Sideshow c. 1930's. "Voltess - the girl who defies electricity" sideshow act. This side show was said to have drawn crowds of around 20,000 people on a busy weekend afternoon. Admission to the sideshow was 10 cents a person. Original mark from Millard Bulsterbaum 2894 W. 8th Street Coney Island NY. Fantastic smaller size for a sideshow banner...