With powerful, often shocking immediacy, the 317 posters reproduced and discussed in this volume document the political and military conflicts of our century. These works reveal their meaning most clearly when we do not relegate them to the function of illustrating a text or see them merely as specimens of the applied arts, but take them seriously as unique combinations of historical witness and aesthetic object. Drawn from Russia, Central and Western Europe, and the United States, from the turn of the century to the aftermath of the Second World War, the posters form a bridge between the claims of ideology and the state on the one hand and the support or submission of millions of men and women on the other. How can men be persuaded to fight for their party or country, and how can women be convinced to enter the workforce in wartime and retreat to the home when their men return? How can women be brought to believe that losing their husbands and sons is a noble sacrifice? Where can money be found to pay for the costs of the war and of reconstruction? Are guilt, compassion, and fear sufficient to bind the homefront to the fighting men? What is the most effective way to dehumanize the enemy, whether foreign or domestic? These are some of the issues that the posters in this volume lay bare and begin to explain. Together text and image open fresh perspectives on half a century of war, revolution, and renewed war, and point toward a new kind of integrative history. Except for seven posters, the images in this book are from the archives of the Hoover Institution on War, Peace and Revolution at Stanford University. Soon after the outbreak of the First World War, Herbert Hoover began to collect documents, including posters, from the warring powers. He laid the foundation for one of the world's great poster collections, now consisting of some 75,000 posters as well as of nearly 40,000 proclamations and other purely typographical announcements.
Brilliant. The dustjacket flap explains things rather well: "This book treats the poster both as art and as historical witness. Posters are not relegated to the secondary role of illustrating an historical text nor are they trated as autonomous aesthetic objects.... Rather, they are substantial components of an historical narrative that is made up of both image and text." And, true to this perspective, this book honors both text and image. The images are stunning, reproduced in color with a large amount of detail and texture. In this 232 page book, there are well over 300 illustrations. Each poster is annotated and the text draws attention to similarities and differences. Table of Contents Introduction Note on the Posters Prologue: Before 1914 The First World War (pp 10-99) The Interwar Years (pp 100-141) The Second World War (pp 142-213) Epilogue Editorial Note Bibliographical Note List of Posters Index of Artists
One of a kind
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
Persuasive Images is a visually stunning book. No other book comes close in terms of quality or, for that matter, quantity.Viewed purely as an art book, it's a must-have. As a history book, it's jaw-droppingly intriguing. I have never found a book, website, or museum collection as appealing and thought-provoking as you will find in this book.I teach high school -- I have had students stay 3 hours after school just to pore over the pages of this book. It's that good.
Powerful graphic images that appear cutting edge today. . .
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
I was extremely pleased with this book. . .I was looking for images and I was not disappointed. From humorous to chilling it's filled with tremendously powerful works. . .many of which are as vivid and visceral now as I'm sure they were then. . .
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