But not just any Posters. Cool, Beautiful, Inspiring, Ethereal, Educational Posters. From us, here at Pulp, of course.
If we’re going to tell a ‘How it Started and How it’s Going’ story, we should start at the beginning. The year 1477 to be exact. Public woodblock prints were publicly ‘posted’ (ahem, hence the name) on walls in England to advertise a handbook for priests. Got to give it to them. They knew their market.
Anyway, a few hundred years later, in 1866, a French guy called Jules Chéret created the first colour lithographs. The V&A museum in London explains it more eloquently than I could:
"In lithographic printing, the design is drawn in waxy crayon onto a smooth surface, typically limestone blocks, which are then doused with water and then covered with an oil-based ink. The waxy-drawn areas repel the water and soak up the ink before being transferred to the paper.”
Chéret designed these lithographics in a way that hadn’t been done before. He added hand-drawn lettering and was a master at composition, which led his posters to be compared to decorative painters of the previous century, such as Tiepolo. (GianBattista to his friends. The Greatest Italian Rococo painter that ever lived apparently. No biggie. )
Example noted. Herein lies the proof that posters are thoughtful art for your home at a fraction of the cost. And Cavallini & Co have a range that makes choosing posters both difficult (e.g. which one, how many) and delightful (e.g. a visual feast for your eyes).
Case in point: Hummingbirds, The Periodic Table, Mineralogie, The majestic Sunflower, Herbarium, Vintage Maps of France (In honour of our French Poster Boy Chéret, haw-haw), Jellyfish, and The Phases of the Moon.
Just naming a few here. Our poster collection can take you from the garden to the cosmos and from the science lab to the seven seas.
Is this enough to entice you?
Bottom line is that posters have come a long way. Sure, you automatically associate them with ads for movies, washing detergent, sunscreen, or any other number of everyday marketing for things. But have a thought for the posters that exist to simply give your room a burst of colour, a happy thought and good vibes.
So how is it going, really, since 1477? Come to the shop and have a lookie-see for yourself.