What is a rare theatre poster?

Rare Theatre Posters Rare Posters Rare & Limited Vintage

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The theatre poster can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when theatre companies would parade through town squares to inform the townspeople about their upcoming performances, pasting details of the event to walls and posts along their parade route.

When in 1576 the first public theatre in England opened in London, performances were announced by the distribution of smaller handbills. A century later in 1672, a French theatre company visited, bringing with them a larger format poster that featured lettering printed in black and (more expensive) red ink, which became the new desirable format.

A Day By The Sea

£155, framed rare poster

Rare & Limited Rare Theatre Posters Rare Posters Typography Graphic Art Vintage

The 19th century saw many advancements in print production, including the first machine to manufacture paper in continuous sheets, iron presses, and steam-powered presses, all of which saw advances in speed and production, while lowering the costs.

These prior machine advances were fantastic for printing lettering, though older and slower methods of printing including wood-cut were still required for printing the illustrative elements of the design, until the invention of lithography in 1851.

Lithographic printing meant that for the first time, printing complex and colourful designs became an affordable possibility. Theatre managers were thrilled to be able to produce eye-catching posters for their longer-running shows, which were pasted around town to captivate new and existing audiences.

Artists including Jules Chéret and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec redefined poster design in the second half of the 19th century with their lively and colourful depictions of Parisian performers, transforming the poster into a true art form.

Both World Wars saw the boom in extravagant theatre poster design cease to be, with productions reverting back to modest black lettering for many years. It wasn't until the 1960s that poster design saw a resurgence in creativity, greatly influenced by the Pop Art movement and silkscreen printing.

Charlie Girl

£155, framed rare poster

Rare & Limited Rare Theatre Posters Rare Posters Vintage

Expertly conserved, our historic collection of theatre posters date back to the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, making them exceptionally rare collectors items. With over 100 original posters in our archive – many of which can also be found in the collections of leading museums including the V&A and Tate – there are many collectible treasures to be discovered.