page_title: Poster
section_title: Golden age of the posters
hierarchical_section_title: Poster / History / Golden age of the posters
caption_attribution_description: Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows: Madam Ada Castello. Daring Madam Castello's amazing exploits on the equine marvel "Jupiter". Promotional poster for Ringling Brothers by the Coach Lithographic Co., Buffalo, New York, ca. 1899. Here is what little I could find about here (click for a picture): Ada ("the Great Zazell") Wallett [Castello] Born January 5 1865 in Birmingham, England, died October 15, 1929 in Henderson, North Carolina. The Great Zazell performed across America and in several other countries as the first woman to be shot from a cannon in America. She also performed with her husband, David Castello Loughlin, in his equestrian act. David was the son of Dan Castello, one of the founders of the Barnum &amp; Bailey Circus. From the Performing Arts Poster Collection at the Library of Congress More circus posters &#x7c; More performing arts posters
context_page_description: A poster is a temporary promotion of an idea, product, or event put up in a public space for mass consumption. Typically, posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly text. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and informative. Posters may be used for many purposes. They are a frequent tool of advertisers, propagandists, protestors, and other groups trying to communicate a message. Posters are also used for reproductions of artwork, particularly famous works, and are generally low-cost compared to the original artwork. The modern poster, as we know it, however, dates back to the 1840s and 1850s when the printing industry perfected colour lithography and made mass production possible.
context_section_description: By the 1890s, poster art had widespread use in other parts of Europe, advertising everything from bicycles to bullfights. By the end of the nineteenth century, during an era known as the Belle Époque, the standing of the poster as a serious art form was raised even further. Between 1895 and 1900, Jules Chéret created the Maîtres de l'Affiche series (Masters of the Poster) that became not only a commercial success, but is now recognized as an important historical publication. 
  Eugène Grasset and Alphonse Mucha were also influential poster designers of this generation, known for their Art Nouveau style and stylized figures, particularly of women. Advertisement posters became a special type of graphic art in the modern age. Poster artists such as Théophile Steinlen, Albert Guillaume, Leonetto Cappiello, Henri Thiriet, and others became important figures of their day, their art form transferred to magazines for advertising as well as for social and political commentary. Indeed, as design historian Elizabeth Guffey notes, “As large, colorful posters began to command the spaces of public streets, markets, and squares, the format itself took on a civic respectability never afforded to Victorian handbills.”
  In the United States, posters underwent a slightly different evolution. By the 1850s, the advent of the traveling circus brought colorful posters to tell citizens that a carnival was coming to town. While many of these posters were beautifully printed, the earliest were mass-produced woodcuts; that technique, as well as their subject matter, crowded style, and bright colors, was often derided by contemporary critics. As chromo-lithography began to reshape European posters, American artists began to take that medium more seriously. Indeed, the work of designers such as Edward Penfield, or Will Bradley gained an audience in Europe as well as America.
caption: Poster for Ringling Brothers (circa 1899) featuring Madam Ada Castello and her horse, Jupiter
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