During the company’s early years, the creation of the Nautilus submarine marked General Dynamics as a powerful innovator. The nuclear-powered submarine was finished in 1954, and it accomplished what many had thought to be impossible – traveling to the North Pole. For more on the history of the USS Nautilus, check out the Submarine Force Library and Museum website.

The light purple color of the nautilus shell is subtle and understated, contrasting with the emanating emerald green hue in the crest of the shell. A spider web at the center of the shell offsets the simple design of the rest of the poster, and a submarine entering the opening of the shell creates a surreal effect. The text below the nautilus shell reads “hydrodynamics.”

The symbol of the nautilus is simple, yet bold, and immediately recognizable. At the time the work of General Dynamics was innovative, and this poster both captivates the viewer and captures the essence of this historic moment in time.

Today, the original Nautilus can be viewed at the Navy’s Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut. It is a piece of history that serves as the most famous innovation by General Dynamics.

The “Nuclear Fusion” Atoms for Peace poster in French depicts some striated lines in different colors, and then shows a symbol that expresses the physics of nuclear fusion. The simple design and gradation in color draws the viewer’s eye to the center of the poster and creates an easily distinguishable image.

The General Dynamics “Exploring the Universe” original poster depicts the concept of “weather control.” A glass chemistry beaker is filled with clouds, showing a cloud mass in an inescapable silo. Arrows indicate the direction the way the clouds would move in the atmosphere – General Dynamics gives a glimpse of the scientific research at which it excels.

Depending on the subject of the poster, General Dynamics either created a simpler design or a more complex design on the poster. For example, the “Artificial Intelligence” poster has a multitude of shapes with variations of coloration that embody an idea of intelligence and brain power.

Much could be said about both the design of the lithographs and the interpretation of each poster’s subject. Without a doubt, the posters are still effective at catching the viewer’s attention and curiosity.

General Dynamics’s posters are rare and we are excited to showcase this collection of post-war history. All of the posters are linen-backed and available for sale. Please check out website’s science and technology category for availability.

Sources: http://www.generaldynamics.com/about/corporate-overview/
http://www.ussnautilus.org/

This post was written by Karlie Drutz, Vintage European Posters special projects coordinator, and edited by Elizabeth Norris, owner of Vintage European Posters.

You can visit our showroom at 2201 Fourth Street in Berkeley on Tuesdays and by appointment.

Call us at 510 843 2201 to schedule an appointment.

Our next pop up open weekend is June 8-9 2013. You can see our collection at www.vepca.com

You can also see us in Los Angeles at Dwell on Design June 21-23

Les Vins de Bourgogne

Les Vins de Bourgogne is an original vintage poster illustrated by Guy Arnoux advertising wines from France’s Burgundy region. The poster shows a 17th-century military captain reclining under a canopy of grapes, hinting that the wine has been aged to perfection. This beautiful piece was printed in the 1920′s using stone lithography.

If you visit Paris, make sure to go to Place des Vosges, a lovely park in the Marais which was built by Henry the 4th and inaugurated in 1612.  Place Des Vosges is a formal garden, it features plane trees planted in allees, and triangles of grass.  There is a perfect geometry to the place.  It is surrounded by well appointed  buildings, with shutters and  steeply pitched blue slate rooftops.

As is the case  in much of Paris, the bottom floor of many apartments is used for storefronts and restaurants.  You can have lunch at Ma Bourgogne, and watch the steady stream of people walk in and out of the gates of Place des Vosges. Visit their website to get a taste of this wonderful place.

This post was written by Karlie Drutz, Vintage European Posters special projects coordinator, and Elizabeth Norris, owner of Vintage European Posters.

You can visit our showroom at 2201 Fourth Street in Berkeley on Tuesdays and by appointment.

Call us at 510 843 2201 to schedule an appointment.

Our next pop up open weekend is May 18-19 2013. You can see our collection at www.vepca.com

Stan Galli, San Francisco United Airlines Cable Car, c. 1955

The West has always beckoned to those in search of change.  The adventurous came to California to put a stake in land, to chase after gold, and later, in search of personal transformation in the summer of love.

How did the word get out about the promise of the West?  Posters provide an answer.

This summer Vintage European Posters will showcase a collection of posters from the San Francisco Bay Area in a show titled “It Happened Here.” The show features posters about the Vietnam War protests, women’s rights, black power, as well as selected works by Berkeley Poster artist David Lance Goines.

David Lance Goines, Applause Is Not Enough, 1994

Don’t miss out on this collection of local history!

The show runs from May 18 – July 3^rd

Come visit us for the show’s opening weekend
Saturday, May 18 from 10-6
Sunday, May 19 from  11-5

And see us every week on Tuesdays & Wednesdays from  11-5 and by appointment.

Call us at 510 843 2201 to schedule an appointment.

This post was written by  Elizabeth Norris, owner of Vintage European Posters, and edited by Emily Jackson, Media Director.

The images in the middle of the poster are striking, they ask the viewer to think – what is that imagery? What is that showing? The poster below embodies the concept “radiation dynamics,” and it evokes a sense of waves generating from the deep red circle at the top of the poster. The design is simple, yet stunning.

General Dynamics -Atoms for Peace (Arabic)

Another question we can ask in the year 2013 is: just WHY did they design these posters?

The answer is complex, but one could conjecture that the propaganda was necessary for General Dynamics to promote the peaceful use of atomic energy. Certainly, the history behind the atomic bombs dropped on Japan was fresh in people’s minds even a decade after World War II. People associated atomic energy with a force of mass destruction and tragedy associated with war. The plan for General Dynamics at this time was to change that perception through the creation of these posters that generated a positive association and connection to atomic energy.

Atomic energy was a fast-emerging power source, and General Dynamics displayed the Atoms for Peace posters at the conferences they attended, like the Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva in 1955. These were important tools in representing General Dynamics’s company, which was founded in 1952. What kinds of products did General Dynamics make? Most notably, they made the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, but some of their other products included medical instruments and rockets.

General Dynamics – Atoms for Peace, Electrodynamics (Sanskrit)

Why were they in different languages? The different languages include: Sanskrit, French, German, Russian, English, Japanese, Arabic. General Dynamics tried to appeal to an international audience; thus, they tailored their poster to be striking visually for all viewers, but to have writing in different languages on each poster.

The second set of Atoms for Peace featured 7 posters, all created in 1956. Some of the others series of posters that General Dynamics created were the Triga series, which promoted a research reactor, and a series that focuses on a variety of products for energy and industry.

The posters offer a look at how a groundbreaking scientific research movement used propaganda. As artwork, the posters have a vibrancy and visual power that makes them eye-catching. I find it interesting that they are a set that is hard to find in full completeness, and I think their rarity adds even more to their mystique.

Vintage European Posters has been lucky to acquire a collection of General Dynamics posters recently, and we invite you to visit us and see for yourself how intriguing these posters really are.

General Dynamics – Atoms for Peace (Japanese)

Right now, we are exhibiting at LA Modernism with 10 newly aquired General Dynamics posters.  When we get back to the shop in Berkeley next week, we will photograph them, catalogue them, and upload them to our website, so stay tuned for new acquisitions!

This post was written by Karlie Drutz, Vintage European Posters special projects coordinator,
and edited by Elizabeth Norris, owner of Vintage European Posters.

You can visit our showroom at 2201 Fourth Street in Berkeley on Tuesdays and by appointment.
Call us at 510 843 2201 to schedule an appointment.

Our next pop up open weekend is May 18-19 2013. You can see our collection at www.vepca.com

Morvan, Jeunesse au Plein Air Tennis, 1951

We’ll be rolling up the door this weekend, April 13 & 14 to debut some exceptional new poster finds. Please join us for our Berkeley showroom’s ONLY open weekend in April, for what promises to be a truly spectacular poster experience.

Elizabeth has been on the hunt of late and has turned up over 50 new gems: Italian Art Nouveau, modern travel, tennis, golf, flamenco, bicycles – posters in all shapes and sizes and styles! Honestly, we’ve been up to our ears in cataloguing and the tubes keep rolling in! And now comes the best part: sharing them with you.

Bonnet, Visitez Rouen, c. 1910

After this we take the collection south to the very cool LA Modernism Show, so do come see us and the new posters now while you can. They will not be live on the website until May, when we return.

Don’t forget to measure your walls! We look forward to helping you find just the right original poster for your space.

See you then!

Details:
Location: Vintage European Posters Showroom “Outpost”
2201 Fourth Street, Berkeley CA 94710
(510)843-2201
Saturday April 13 from 10-6pm
Sunday April 14th from 11-5pm

Gruau, Blizzand Red Coat, c. 1965

This post was written by Charly Leys and edited by Emily Jackson   www.vepca.com

Vintage European Posters was established in 1997. We are the West Coast’s Largest Dealer in Original Vintage Posters from France and the United States. See us online anytime at www.vepca.com and at our Berkeley Showroom OUTPOST 2201 Fourth Street, Tuesdays and Thursdays.