Designed to Make You Want to Work for Your Country

Original World War II Poster by Jean Carlu “Give ‘Em Both Barrels”

“Give Em Both Barrels”

Jean Carlu (1900-1997)

Offset Lithograph

printed 1941 in the US by the Office of War Information

Restored tape stains

$1,650

Jean Carlu was a prominent French Poster artist, born at the turn of the century.  One of his first posters was a World War I reconstruction poster created in 1920. Carlu was invited to come to the US during the occupation.  While here, he created two posters for the Office of War Information, the agency responsible for keeping propaganda ‘on message’.  “Give ‘Em Both Barrels” is one of the most sought after WWII posters because of it’s machine age design. This style was rarely achieved in other WWII posters by American artists.

This post was written by  Elizabeth Norris, owner of Vintage European Posters.
You can visit our showroom at 2201 Fourth Street in Berkeley on Tuesdays – Thursdays
Call us at 510 843 2201 to schedule an appointment.

Our next pop up open weekend is April 5-6, 2013. You can see our collection at www.vepca.com

You can also see us in Los Angeles at LA Modernism April 25-27

Today, We Are All ‘Wireless Fans’

“You Wireless Fans”

Charles Buckles Falls

Stone Lithograph

printed circa 1918  in the US

Restored

$1,950

One hundred years ago, if you wanted news, you didn’t say “Let’s turn on the radio”.  Instead you would say “Let’s listen to the wireless”. This is a great example of how the poster records vernacular.  Ask any kid today what wireless means and they won’t say the radio!

This is a rare American World War I Recruiting poster.  The US needed telecommunications officers when we joined the war in 1917 and amateur radio operators were ideal because of their familiarity with the technology. The piece is a stone lithograph, distinguished by it’s modern, almost futuristic style.  Most World War I posters are sentimental in feel, CB Falls work stands out in contrast because of it’s strong graphic style.

This post was written by  Elizabeth Norris, owner of Vintage European Posters.
You can visit our showroom at 2201 Fourth Street in Berkeley on Tuesdays – Thursdays
Call us at 510 843 2201 to schedule an appointment.

Our next pop up open weekend is April 5-6, 2013. You can see our collection at www.vepca.com

See us on the Peninsula at the San Francisco Landscape Garden Show March 19-23

You can also see us in Los Angeles at LA Modernism April 25-27

It Happened Here Narration

It Happened Here

Our current gallery show, “It Happened Here” seeks to narrate California’s journey from war to prosperity, and from political upheaval and conflict back to prosperity using original material from our collection. We feature posters from World War II, a special collection of Political and Protest Posters from the Bay Area, and the work of Berkeley’s own poster artist David Lance Goines.  The posters represent how the West reacted to and embraced the monumental changes of the second half of the twentieth century.

David Lance Goines, Chez Panisse, 1981

Post War Prosperity

World War II helped pull the United States out of the Depression.

Munitions and shipyard work poured money into the economy and the composition of the workforce changed dramatically because so many men went to war. For the first time, American workers of different racial and economic backgrounds found themselves side by side, united with a common cause.

Anon., United We Win, 1943

The United States experienced an economic boom in the 1950s, a result of the GI Bill that produced an educated work force, and the expansion of technologies and means of production during the war. This created a wealthy nation with a positive outlook.  Americans bought houses and durable goods, and had children, producing the baby boom.  The American dream expanded from its pre-war ‘chicken in every pot’ to bigger dreams of luxury and prosperity.  And the number of Americans expanded dramatically as well.

Political Discord

The new middle class of the 1950s produced a generation that ‘had it all’.  These children who came of age in the 1960s wanted for nothing material.  With their basic needs more than met, individuals sought different kinds of fulfillment, and began to question both the dominant culture and the military industrial complex that the United States had built in the 20^th Century.

While women had joined the workforce in World War II, they returned home in the 50s and 60s, where they enjoyed a new lifestyle full of durable goods and convenience foods.  The possibility of fulfillment outside the home existed as a memory for American women, and manifested itself in the second wave of the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s.

People of color had also achieved material success during World War II.  Some enlisted, while many worked in munitions factories and shipyards, resulting a in a second wave of migration to port cities such as Chicago, Oakland, and Los Angeles. After the war, integration was slow and tensions played out in church bombings, battles over school bussing, and lunch counters.  The Black Power, Chicano Rights, and Indian Rights Movements were born out of these struggles.

Berkeley Bohemians and San Francisco Seekers

David Lance Goines  attended UC Berkeley and was a part of the Free Speech Movement, during which he was jailed along with Mario Savio.  At the time, he had been learning printing in Berkeley.  After prison, the University seemed irrelevant, and Goines dropped out and fully committed himself to his press, St. Heironymous.

In 1968,  Goines and his friend Alice Waters created ‘Thirty Recipes Suitable for Framing” which were sold at the shop ‘The Kitchen” in Berkeley.  The first edition of  500 sold out in three days.  Thus began Goines’s career as the poster artist for the then nascent restaurant Chez Panisse.  Over time Goines produced posters for such legends at Velo Sport, Peet’s Coffee, Cody’s Books, Acme Bread, Ravenswood, Mr. Espresso, and many Bay Area and national clients.  The products represented were the luxuries enjoyed by the Bohemians who  populated the Bay Area in the 1970’s.  Wine, Good Coffee, Bicycles and Books are still defining parts of our lives in the Bay Area.

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

You can see “It Happened Here” at our showroom, “Outpost” located at 2201 Fourth Street in Berkeley, open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11-5 and by appointment.  Our pop-up open weekend this month is June 8-9.  The show closes on July 3rd.

To view our full collection of over 1,000 original vintage posters, visit our website.

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

A Guide to Being an Informed Poster Buyer

At Vintage European Posters, we like to say that we don’t sell you posters, we find you the posters you love. We also know that it can be very overwhelming to walk into a poster shop where you are offered  hundreds of original posters to choose from, so here are some helpful tips to help you become an informed poster buyer.

1. Purchase posters that you love. Many factors determine the value of a vintage poster, including its rarity, condition, designer, and sometimes subject matter, but the most important feature of a poster is that it speaks to you.

2. Know your source. Members that display the IVPDA logo have passed a series of stringent membership requirements. Association members have many years of professional experiences and are respected within the arts community for their knowledge and integrity.

3. Original posters were advertising items, not meant to last, and were printed on inexpensive paper. Therefore, a poster printed on heavy stock or good quality paper may be suspect.

4. Know your wall space. Vintage Posters come in all shapes and sizes, so it is always a good idea to know your size requirements and restrictions ahead of time. Your IVPDA member-dealer will help you identity and obtain posters that suit the space you have to display them. *

5. Have fun! This is a time for you to engage with the posters that intrigue you and learn about their history. At Vintage European Posters we do our best to foster an engaging and welcoming environment to help you feel comfortable in choosing the right poster for your space and lifestyle.

Jules Alexandre-Grun, Cocorico! 1913

Linen Backing and Mounting

Using a reversible conservation method, most posters today are professionally linen backed; mounted on acid free paper and a light cotton canvas or mounted on acid free Japanese rice paper. The IVPDA membership includes professionals who undertake this work as well as restoration, if necessary

The IVPDA

The International Vintage Poster Dealers Association (IVPDA) is a non-profit professional organization of dealers, which provides strict guidelines to ensure the authenticity of the posters for sale. Dealers displaying the IVPDA logo are found in many cities around the world. Members are committed to the highest standards of professional ethics in the collectibles industry and have been carefully screened for their knowledge of printing techniques, posters, and business ethics.

Villemot, Perrier C’est Fou, 1976

*Numbers 1-4 reprinted form the IVPDA brochure. (Now out of print) 

This post was written by Emily Jackson, UC Berkeley Art History Student and Gallery Assistant, and edited by Elizabeth Norris, Owner Vintage European Posters   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

A Little Taste of Benedictine

Vintage advertising posters tell us what products were in demand in the past and how those ‘brands’ reached out to consumers.  In the Vintage European Posters Blog this month, we will take a look at some of the original vintage posters from our collection which advertise legendary liquor brands, how manufacturers explained their product in posters, and how the product  looks to today’s consumer.

Benedictine Liqueur*

Benedictine is an herbal liqueur, said to have medicinal properties.  The recipe was developed  in the  Benedictine Abbey in Normandy by a Monk, Don Bernardo Vincelli, and contains 27 herbs and spices. The primary herbs are Angelica, Hyssop and Lemon Balm, and the distilled liquor is aged 17 months before it goes to market.

The recipe is closely guarded – only 3 people at a time are privy to it, and the brand has been  imitated countless times, so much so that at the distillery there is a rogue’s gallery of counterfeits! Benedictine is an ingredient in the Singapore Sling, some drink it neat, but it is probably most famously enjoyed as a B & B – Benedictine and Brandy.

Anonymous, Benedictine, c. 1890

This poster was created in the 1890’s in France.  It measures 41.5 inches by 57.5 inches and has some light folds with professional water reversible restoration.  The Parisian printer Imprimeries Lemercier went to great lengths to capture the detail of this beautiful design.  The poster features the gothic architecture of the Norman Abbey and the sense of history associated with the brand. The crests across the top of the poster suggest nobility.   The piece also has a tax stamp, just below the B which shows that the poster was hung outdoors and a municipal display tax was paid.

In the Bay Area today, there are many great watering holes featuring mixologists who use Benedictine in their palette.  Visit Flora’s new bar “Fauna” in the Uptown District, or Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco for a taste of this legendary liquor.  Having a hard time finding Benedictine? Try a good bottle shop like Ledger’s Liquor on University Avenue in Berkeley, very close to our Berkeley Showroom.

You can see this poster, and the VEP Collection at St. Christopher Antique Show February 1-3 in San Jose.  The show is a benefit for the St. Christopher’s School in Willow Glen.

2278 Booksin Avenue, San Jose
Friday February 1, 11am-8pm
Saturday February 2, 11am-8pm
Sunday February 3,  10am-2pm

VEP’s booth at the St. Christopher Antique Show last year

*Image from Wikipedia

This post was written by Elizabeth Norris, Owner Vintage European Posters, and edited by Emily Jackson, UC Berkeley Art History Student and Gallery Assistant  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