The billboard (Mar 1896)

March, 1896. BILLBOARD ADVERTISING. ADVERTISING BV POSTERS. Excepting only the town crier, posters :,rctbeoldestformofadvertiBing. Devel- opment in this line has not been as rapid us it has been in the newspaper line, but in tlic last two or three years poster adver- ting has taken Mich rapid stride* in ad- vance that now almost any scheme of id vertiaing is considered incomplete with- out its quota of attractive posters. The impetus bus come from Paris. The idea of real art in posters came from Paris. In saying these things, I have in mind the poster as it is used for advertising com- mercial enterprises and publications. In the line of show bills high art has been work of Matt Morgan, whose beat productions most be well rememberi every one who haa aeen them. In the modem acceptation, the word " poster" to the average mind means a one-sheet bill—and even more frequently The French have taught us the use of be the stronger. It will be ■ Simplicity and strength must be th< aim of of the poster artist. The less he he goes into detail, the better. It is not the mission of the poster to convince. It may only suggest. It must be strong enough to command attention, and tic enough to command admiration. The poster used in advertising Scrib- ner's Magazine for February is one of the best I have seen. It is strong, simple and which shows him intently reading a paper which he holds in his hand. The poster says to the casual observer, that "S mental Tommy" is a story of absorbing interest. The figure expresses this. The colors used an black and pale ibeir mniriillii mas And yet. (he idea itself is right. There is nothing so attractive to man as a wo- man ; and there is nothing much more attractive to a woman than another wo- The female form ia the most beautiful thing in nature or in art. Used properly « can only exert a beneficial influence on observers of all ages. There is every rea- son why It should be used in advertising- One of the most beautiful pastel ss been seen in this country was recently by Com stock, be cm .e nude figure of a wot rse, artistic posters can be made without the use of female figures. The Scribner poster which I have been talking about is one in point. lady; in New York City-is that its largest poster advertising is a good thing, it is the fact thai newspapers use it in preference Twspaper apace. Now. I am s be- c in newspaper advertising, and in poster advertising. As a ciatter of fact, I suppose I believe more in newspaper apace than in poster advertising. Poster advertising is like the little girl who had a Utile curl— 1 ■ When it is good, it is very, I belli t local adve t ishor- i they do great lot of that the local bill poster' develops, if he wants to. He ■ people in the same line in a dozen differ- ent towns, and so give each one of them practically an original design at one- twelfth its apparent cost. As for the designs themselves, I can see no excuse for the grotesque effects that are now so popular among a certain group of artists. I can find in my heart no 1 ad- miration for Aubrey Beerdsley's style of art; and there are a great many French productions which I fail to appreciate. There arc oseful ideas in both styles of work—ideas that can be applied to post- ers representing a much higher order of " 'HigG'—If yon don't know what it is, yon don't need it." Why should Aunt Jemima's Pancakes object to Big G? It has been putting money into the bill posters' hands for many years before Aunt Jemima thought of doing anything of the kind. And Aunt Jemima is just as likely to rub op against it in the news- papers as on the billboards. And when you come right down to the question as j which is the most necessary of the two rticles, the man who wants Big G wants ; mighty bad, and he wants it right away -at least, so I have been told by a man iho had a friend who once wanted Kg 1. He says that all the Aunt Jemimas in 1. S. HOUGHTALING IHOTE). >ers are newspapers and periodicals, hich are themselves purveyors of a' sing space. The newspaper advertising soli says to his prospective customer tha is the one great and only ad- I object ie who wrote acertaii on that appeared long before posters were beard of. said consistency was , and made, some further rexnar: ie subject which ought to ma! edifying reading for tb ing and printing houses, and can secure sketches to submit to local advertisers. This, of course, is done to some extent but not sufficiently. If local advertisers generally knew how much of a show they could make with a small amount of money spent in posters, they would use a great many more of They could be used to great advantage by the dry goods houses at the time of special sales, and by other lines of busi- ness at different time* of the year. ' One or two ol the New York depart- ment stores have used twelve sheet staods for tUa purpose. It is pot so good for them as it would be fo. stores in am " ie half as well. that the object of an A ETOLV Smi >JJ k. JNO. E. WILLIAMS. g the boys thai Gatming. the "Saudow of the in Painting Arena." had no mean representa- le as a hand-shaker in the redoubtable John H. Chicago politician who is strong with "the boys." The fetching power of that "grip" in certain little municipal affairs in Chicago most have got abroad somehow, for it evidently reached tut attention ol the!Protective League of American Showmen, at whose meeting Mr. Williams wu found on bia feet, pointing out the niceties of legislative proceeding, and appar- -Withonl saying that ei a the interests ot Inst Mg