Tell me why: Some attributes regarding posters

Once upon a time, posters possessed the ability — hard to believe today — to charm even the hurried observer. Whether they advertised products or holiday resorts, events or ideas: eye-catcher followed eye-catcher, art and commerce were one and in tune with the times — whereby the quest for a bold, attention-grabbing synthesis of image and text continually drove the creators of the posters to fresh, powerful solutions.

Initially mostly designed by fine artists, then by representatives of the developing guild of commercial artists and typographers, masters of their trade printed the posters as lithographs in rich colors and sweaty manual work from limestones weighing almost tons. The rise of photography and the triumph of cheaper offset printing, which – in the case of Switzerland – took off after the Second World War, marked the beginning of the end of lithographed posters.

The proximity to people's everyday lives, combined with the artistic freedom largely still enjoyed by designers at the time and the vibrant colors of stone lithography, also explains the appeal of the posters created up until around 1960, which hardly anyone can resist. They are witnesses to long-gone times that may not have been better, but in which art and commerce harmonized in a splendid way.

Essentially doomed to destruction

Often it is pure coincidence that individual copies of the posters, which were printed back then in editions of just a few hundred sheets, have survived to this day, even though there were already early enthusiasts and public institutions that recognized the aesthetic and (art) historical value of the posters and collected them. After all, they are unwieldy and fragile everyday objects, printed on thin paper, intended for posting and thus doomed to destruction within a few weeks. Accordingly, posters designed by renowned creators such as Emil Cardinaux, Otto Baumberger, or Martin Peikert are rare and sought-after — especially when they also promoted glamorous winter resorts or traditional brands and furthermore knew how to convey the message in a compelling way.

If such posters are still in comparatively good condition despite their originally ephemeral character, despite their size and despite their vulnerability, coveted works become highly sought-after trophies and collector's items - which in turn can be reflected in five-figure prices. However, these are also the works that belong to the canon, so to speak, and for which the investment can still be worthwhile despite the previous increase in value.

The ABC of
Condition report

When assessing the condition of a poster, the criteria are nowhere near as strict as those applied to hand-signed prints, for example. Nevertheless, the condition naturally plays a central role in the evaluation of a poster.