San Francisco Flower and Garden Show

San Francisco Flower and Garden Show

The ‘Images de la Vie” (images of Life) Series   

The Images de la Vie series of posters were first created in 1945, just after the end of World War II.  These posters were designed to decorate French classrooms and to re-acculturate children who had missed out on much of typical French life because of the occupation and the war. There are over 100 posters in the series from 1945, all by illustrator the illustrator Poirie.

Many topics that are dear to me are addressed in the series such as cultivating a garden, foraging for mushrooms, caring for farm animals.  There are also posters which feature the butcher, the fish monger, charcuterie, and sports and stadiums, and eventually, in a later, unsigned series from 1950 and 1955 there are posters which feature industries such as coal mining, salt flats, shipping ports and airports.  There is even a poster from the fifties about shopping in department stores! Ooh la la, so French!

Enjoy these charming and naïve posters, and come and see our collection of original vintage posters from Europe and the United States at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show  March 21-25, 2012. Our collection is always available online at www.vepca.com and you can visit our showroom at 2201 Fourth Street in Berkeley by appointment.  Sign our mailing list to receive our blog, our newsletter and invites to pop up open weekends in the  Bay Area, the South Bay and Los Angeles.