Communist Posters

Product Information

Napoleon was defeated, that will be the case of the swelled-headed Hitler!" Reproduction of the poster from The State Historical Museum

Russian Revolutionary Posters | St Edmund Hall Russian Revolutionary Posters | St Edmund Hall

These Nazi propaganda posters are as repugnant in their message as they are impressive in their artistic craftsmanship.

Poland has a long history with posters. Starting in the 1890s, artists would produce colorful posters to promote art exhibitions, theater performances, and ballets. They mixed popular styles like Japanism, Jugendstil, Secessionist, and Cubism with traditional symbolism and Polish folklore. This often led to thought-provoking and unique designs. During the Cultural Revolution traditional artists were condemned as counter-revolutionaries and their work destroyed. A new style of art was required that supported the Maoist line and served the worker, peasant and soldier. And while we’ve all seen our share of wartime propaganda, we may be less familiar with the decades-long propaganda war the U.S. and Western Europe waged against socialism and Communism, even decades before the Cold War era. It may surprise you to learn that this offensive began even before the start of World War One, as you can see above in a British Conservative Party poster from 1909. Polish posters really hit their stride during the age of Communism. From 1952 to 1989, the Soviet bloc controlled Poland, and posters were often the only spots of color along the gray, quiet streets in Polish cities. This collection of 20th-century Russian posters spans almost the entire history of the Soviet Union (1917-1991). It can be divided into three main series, each representing distinct eras in the history of Communist political advertising. The General Political Poster series features works from the earliest days of Soviet power and is especially strong for the late 1920s, a period that coincides with the "cultural revolution" of I. V. Stalin. The Twenty-Second Communist Party Congress series includes electioneering placards from the early 1960s that graphically illustrate N. S. Khrushchev's promise to catch up and overtake the capitalist West. The Perestroika Era series, which rounds out this collection, is an assemblage of posters from the late 1980s that offers a poignant reminder of the promises and perils of the period of "restructuring" (perestroika) and "openness" (glasnost) under M. S. Gorbachev.

posters from the Soviet era are utterly unique These Polish posters from the Soviet era are utterly unique

Leaving a comfortable job in graphic design to become a freelance illustrator, with Meredith Schomburg This poster depicts the Nazi triumph in the 1932 elections. The text reads, "The People Vote Slate 1—National Socialists." Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C./The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum All of these postures bear the traces of their historical moment, reflecting, sometimes vibrantly, sometimes starkly, a drive to seize meaning as an essential aspect of political culture. Their addition to the art collections of St Edmund Hall is an important donation to the teaching materials of a college with a strong interest in the history, politics, culture, and art of Russia and the USSR.

Unlike other collectibles like furniture, proper restoration can make sought-after posters gain value. “If you restore a poster — by having little flakes filled in, for example — the value can increase,” Lowry said.

Communist Propaganda Posters Relive The Cold War With These 25 Communist Propaganda Posters

For those fascinated by Soviet graphic design and communist history, posters are an easy way to start a collection. Their topics touch on the environment, health, film and space exploration, as well as classic propaganda, depicting Lenin, Soviet workers and Stalin's five-year plans. As the perceived threat increased, so too did the scale of the monstrous caricatures. In the post-WWI era German and Norwegian posters above, Godzilla-sized Communists lay waste to entire cities. Below, in “Bolshevism Unmasked,” an example from the Second World War, the skeletal Communist destroyer straddles the entire globe. We now both work full time on Projekt 26. I do all of the copy and design, and Sylwia is the queen of sourcing. We are a bit of a two-man band and turn our hand to anything we need to! We're currently working on some really exciting collaborative projects, and we love that we never know where our adventure will take us. We've also met so many insanely lovely and creative people along the way. We chatted to Harriet about just what's so special about their vintage Polish posters and how she and Sylwia began this unique project. What's so special about these vintage posters?Russian and international collectors are enthralled by the history, subject matter and extraordinary graphic imagery of posters produced from 1917 to 1991. Prices have increased considerably since the Soviet Union broke up. Chisholm Larsson's founder, Robert Chisholm, says that posters bought in 1991 are probably worth three-times the amount today. In some cases they could be worth much more. A global survey of the history and variety of Communist poster art, with each chapter written by an expert in the field." This 1957 poster extols the virtues of Moscow sightseeing. Photograph: Wayland Rudd Archive/Yevgeniy Fiks/Flint Some Soviet graphic artists are particularly prized, such as Georgii and Vladimir Stenberg, Alexander Rodchenko, El Lissitzky and Gustav Klutsis, partly because their vibrant, avant-garde designs have greatly influenced today’s western artists. Between World War I and World War II, the purpose of posters changed slightly. Instead of promoting artistic events and performances, many posters were more geared toward advertising products. Other posters would promote Poland itself and encourage tourists to visit the country.