Help a new collector of propaganda posters!

[Lost Silents]

Hello all!
I've seen a lot of talk on the forum about advertising posters, movie posters, lobby cards and so forth, but I was wondering if there happened to be anyone here who specialises in propaganda posters, particularly ones from wartime? What have you discovered in your time collecting? What's your favourite piece of propaganda? Which country, in your opinion, makes the best/most outrageous/silliest examples? There seem to be plenty of books about movie posters out there, but not too many good ones on propaganda, so any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks for reading!

[guest4531]

North Korean posters are the best since they are all hand painted and only found in North Korea... For these reasons, it seems there is an underground/hidden market of North Korean posters brought by guys who manage to pass borders with them, especially in China, Hong Kong and South Korea. These aren't cheap, 300 to 500 USD each.

[Harry Caul]

I have a handful of WWII rationing posters.  I work in energy and agriculture so mine often follow those themes (Of Course I Can!, Observe Meatless Days, Car Sharing, etc...). 

[50s]

  Lost. I only have one, not much to write home about:
Thierry hates "French Grande"


There is one I am after,I dont have a pic, a US WW2(?) poster with wife taking money from sleeping husband's wallet to help finance the War drive... something like that

[CSM]

I don't have any but I do love some of the slogans and imagery on them

[Ari]

I have a fair amount of Chinese cultural revolution posters.
I think I made a thread here once...?

[paul waines]

I have one or two from WW2, not sure if I'll be able to find them. Will have a look.

And     To the show that never ends..

(Lets see what Z says now )

[marklawd]

My favourite propaganda poster that I have is a large "Careless Talk Costs Lives" poster - a British poster designed by Fougasse and issued in the Second World War.

I bought a large collection of original Cuban propaganda posters dating from the 1970's/1980's from a government official in Havana over 20 years ago. I haven't looked at them since as they are difficult to reach but I recall they were war-related ( a few Vietnam but mainly revolutionary conflicts such as Nicaragua and Angola).  

In the mid-80's I spent one whole afternoon in a Malaysian government building trying to track down a chilling poster with the caption "Death For Drug Traffickers Under Malaysian Law". I eventually learnt that the US first lady at the time - Nancy Reagan - had visited, asked for and been given their entire remaining supply of the English-language version a fortnight earlier. I was so visibly disappointed that an official took down a framed proof copy they had hanging on their office wall and presented it to me.

I will check out my bookshelf a bit later - I think I have an excellent book on the subject which I hope to recommend.

Mark

[marklawd]

The book I recommend is called "The Power Of The Poster" by Margaret Timmers - a very well presented edition. I also came across another called "Soviet Posters - The Sergo Grigorian Collection" by Maria Lafont.

Mark 

[brude]

In the mid-80's I spent one whole afternoon in a Malaysian government building trying to track down a chilling poster with the caption "Death For Drug Traffickers Under Malaysian Law". I eventually learnt that the US first lady at the time - Nancy Reagan - had visited, asked for and been given their entire remaining supply of the English-language version a fortnight earlier. I was so visibly disappointed that an official took down a framed proof copy they had hanging on their office wall and presented it to me.
Mark

That is a cool story, Mark. 

[Silhouette]

That is a cool story, Mark. 

Sure better than the truth..."I snuck in after hours and cut that baby right out of the frame..." 

[captonron]

Anyone know of a good place to find US War posters? I'd be interested in grabbing a couple, but know nothing about them really to know if they are authentic or not.

[Dread_Pirate_Mel]

Anyone know of a good place to find US War posters? I'd be interested in grabbing a couple, but know nothing about them really to know if they are authentic or not.

Here are the "most watched" war posters on Ebay and they regularly appear on the movie poster auctions as well:

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/posters-and-prints/war/auctions

[captonron]

Thanks, Mel.

Is there anything to look out for to see if they are reproductions or not?

[Dread_Pirate_Mel]

Thanks, Mel.

Is there anything to look out for to see if they are reproductions or not?

Don't know much about war posters (and don't have any myself).

Here are some from HA (you'll have to register to see prices):

http://movieposters.ha.com/c/search-results.zx?N=54+790+231&chkNotSold=0&Ntk=SI_Titles&Nty=1&Ntt=war+propaganda

I think I read somewhere that many of these were reprinted (in the 60s or 70s).  Certainly there seem to be a lot of "too pristine" war posters.

[Lost Silents]

Anyone know of a good place to find US War posters? I'd be interested in grabbing a couple, but know nothing about them really to know if they are authentic or not.

I've bought one from http://www.rare-posters.com/, as has a friend of mine - good service but perhaps a touch pricey at times.

[Bruce]

Here are 824 war posters we have auctioned (they are in date sold order, but you can change it to highest priced first, or whatever you want):

http://www.emovieposter.com/agallery/search/war/type/war%2520poster/sort/14/archive.html

[Crazy Vick]

http://s90.photobucket.com/user/vintagevick/library/War%20Posters

Here's a snapshot of my collection. I started collecting propaganda posters last year.  A number of these were bought from Ebay, other from Liveauctioneers.  Its what got me into posters almost exactly 1 year ago to the day. 

They have fairly standard sizes (like movie posters), depending on provenance (french, US) and war period (WW1, WW2) which helps a lot when confirming authenticity.  Of course type of paper etc..   

This book is great as week http://www.amazon.com/War-Posters-Weapons-Mass-Communication/dp/0500288968

[erik1925]

Nice collection CV.

I always liked the "Hun or Home" poster imagery. Very moving and emotional.

[marklawd]

Yes, great collection CV. My personal favourite is "A Careless Word" - a simple design but with such a powerful message.

Mark

[Crazy Vick]

Thanks all.  I added a couple more.  Note that the James Montgomery Flagg "I want you for..." is from 1967, not a 1917 original.  There aren't too many from 1967 and before though.  I read from somewhere that Flagg modeled the uncle sam image after himself.  What an awesome look.

One of my favorites is the Marina Militare from 1955-56 for recruitment in the italian navy.  Its got a minor hole (burn) but is on linen and looks remarkable.  To me, one of the greatest work of art and poster designs out there, from the layout, to the language font, to the message etc.  Makes me want to jump on a tall ship and see the world.  Damn mortgage.  The blues really come out in real life, picture just doesn't do it justice. 

Also the Men Wanted for the Army, a Michael Whelan from 1908 - my first poster ever which i bought on June 11 one year ago.  Pre-WW1 - so no army greens here but uniforms of the union blue.  Also note the cavalry uniforms being different from the infantry.  The background looks like its from south or west plains - when America was out conquering ALL of its territory.  There are 3 more of this series, but this is the rarest and most sought version. 

Finally, my big f-cking eagle poster...from the 70s with a provenance yet unknown.  American propaganda at its finest!

[Lost Silents]

I'm loving the "Laissez Circuler" poster! Always been keen on coins and coin imagery.

[eric0713]

Dear all, I have a whole lot of DPRK posters and I did 2 exhibitions in the past 2 years. 2013 in Hong Kong and last years in Taiwan. I am new here and hope to know more people over the world who is interested in DPRK aka North Korea posters. By the way, I have over 30 paintings from NK too. Cheers

[erik1925]

  eric0713, and looking forward to seeing what propaganda posters you might have in your collection!

Enjoy the party here, too!  

Eric, this threads has also discussed various propaganda posters that other members own or have mentioned:

http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,5983.0.html

And, as Ari mentioned:

http://www.allposterforum.com/index.php/topic,4203.0.html

Jeff

[eric0713]

Here are some of my collection of Hand-painted posters, please enjoy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/21499136@N06/8853689442/in/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/21499136@N06/8853693136/in/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/21499136@N06/8853077987/in/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/21499136@N06/8853075095/in/photostream/

can anyone teach me how to post a picture, many thanks
Eric