The Poster in History

by Max Gallo

A profusely illustrated survey of posters from the French Revolution to the present. Posters are found in public places all over the world. They are usually visually striking, designed to attract the attention of passers-by and entice them to purchase a particular product or service, make them aware of a political viewpoint, or attend a specific event. This remarkable study is an overview of posters throughout history, as well as a representative survey of mass culture from the time of the French Revolution to 2000. Over 450 posters are reproduced here, 250 in full color, selected for both their historical import and their beauty. Author Max Gallo's informative text recapitulates the social and political currents of the day and places each poster in its historical context. The book also includes an essay on the development of poster art by art critic Carlo Arturo Quintavelle. 200 color and 200 black-and-white illustrations.

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction, Design, Art History

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Max Gallo was a French writer, historian and politician.

The son of Italian immigrants, Max Gallo's early career was in journalism. At the time he was a Communist (until 1956). In 1974, he joined the Socialist Party. On April 26, 2007, the French Academy recorded his candidacy for its Seat 24, formerly held by the late Jean-François Revel. He was elected to the French Academy on 31 May 2007.

Reviews

[reveurdart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good primer. I appreciated Max Gallo's choices in posters and succinctly expressed writing.

If you're looking for an introduction to how posters have been used as a propaganda tool, then this book is quite useful.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A generous selection of posters from the 18th century to the 1970s. Commercial, political and artistique.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really “The Poster in French History, with a few others thrown in”. Part of this is because it begins with the French revolution and partly, I think, because the museums the author had easiest access to are in Paris, such as the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

Second most common is probably Italy and the Museo Civico.

Some of them are amazing. This is a “poster by Ludwig Hohlwein advertising Lufthansa’s flights to Berlin for the Olympics, 1936.”:



Or this, a “British poster of 1942-43”:



Some of the most amazing are from the Axis side of the war:



There’s also an essay in the back about “The Development of Poster Art” by Carlo Arturo Quintavalle.. It has more text and much smaller images. In both sections, the images are far more descriptive than the text surround them.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really not sure how to rate this one. Going with 4, YMMV. It's a 45 year old book written by a European and reads like it, inherent biases and attitudes towards the non European world. Within that it's an excellent social history of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. The tying in of commercial art with the growth of capitalism and the development of the middle class and worker's movements.

One of the still more timely quotes: [on the nature of fascism and Nazism...]...an inhuman and regressive response to the most profound questions facing man in the twentieth century. One could not fight fascism and Nazism with arguments that appealed only to reason, because those ideologies relied not on reason...but fears and motives

[Tascha Folsoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have an old hardback copy from the 1972 translation. The prints are beautiful and he provides a really wonderful overview of the interplay of history and the poster with respect to France, England, Italy, Russia, and the United States from the era of the French Revolution through the post WWII period. I could read this once a year. it's really interesting.

[Belousov Evgeny]

Уникальная книга на тему массовых коммуникаций в Европе, пока не было интернета и телевидения). Агитации, пропаганда, приход к власти нацистов, коммунистов, призывы к войне, борьба за права...