Posters have been around for hundreds of years. They have been used for many purposes including promoting products, events patriotism and movie stars. More recently they have become a popular art form, remembering posters of the past and historic photographs. This is a collection of 10 images commonly seen in a poster format, along with what I hope will be some interesting behind the scene information.
Lunch atop a Skyscraper
Interesting Fact: The photo credit on posters was listed as ‘Unknown’ for many years. The copyright owner of the photograph did not recognize Charles C. Ebbets as the photographer until 2003, after months of investigation by a private investigation firm. The photo has also been frequently miss-attributed to Lewis Hine whose photographs documented the construction of the Empire State Building, in 1931.
We Can Do It!
Interesting Fact: Geraldine Doyle, who was the inspiration behind the now famous poster, died last year at the age 86. Doyle didn’t know she was the model for the poster until 1984, when she came across an article in Modern Maturity magazine, now known as AARP, which linked a photo of her to the poster. You can see the photo here.
Farrah Fawcett
Interesting Fact: This year on February 2nd, which would have been Farrah Fawcett’s 64th birthday, the family donated several items to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, including the infamous red bathing suit she wore in the famous pin up poster.
Lord Kitchener Wants You
Interesting Fact: The poster became the inspiration for the legendary Uncle Sam “I Want You For The US Army” poster, which America used in both World War I and II. It also inspired the famous Smokey the Bear “Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires” Poster.
Tennis Girl
Interesting Fact: This year, after more than 30 years and numerous refusals to pose again, Fiona decided to come forward to promote an exhibition on lawn tennis as a subject in art, which will be held at Birmingham’s Barber Institute of Fine Arts this summer. She believes her picture has earned a place in the history of tennis. Fiona is now a 52 year old mother of three, and is married to a wealthy business man. She has no regrets about posing for the photo, even though she has never earned a penny from it. Photographer Martin Elliot died last year at the age of 63. You can see what Fiona looks like today as she stands next to her famous poster here.
Albert Einstein
Interesting Fact: Einstein liked the picture so much that he cropped it so only his face could be seen. Then he made several copies of it and sent the picture in greeting cards to friends. The original picture shows Einstein sitting in the backseat of a car between Dr Frank Aydelotte, the former head of the Institute for Advanced Study, and his wife. You can see the original photo here.
Kiss by the Hotel de Ville
Interesting Fact: Less than a year after the picture was taken, the couple broke up. Francoise married Alain Bornet, a documentary and promotional filmmaker. Jacques Carteaud became a winegrower in the South of France until his death, in 2004. Robert Doisneau continued as a freelance photographer, until he died in 1994, two weeks shy of his 82nd birthday. In 2005, Françoise Bornet put the original print up for auction. She expected to receive about $25,000 for it. The winning bid was 155,000 Euros. (More than $200,000) You can see her in 2005 holding up the famous image here.