Rue Marcellin - Vintage Poster and Print Blog

Art classics recreated in this funny music video from band "Hold Your Horses!"

noemail@noemail.org (Bénédicte Rigollot) — Thu, 9 Mar 2017 15:35:00 +0100

Watch band "Hold Your Horses!" new video for "70 Million," where the they recreate all the paintings you learned about in your art history class, from "The Last Supper" and "The Kiss," to Mondrian abstracts and Warhol's pop art portraits!

70 Million de Hold Your Horses ! par logreproduction

Five sources of knowledge for print & poster lovers

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Thu, 31 Mar 2016 13:39:00 +0200

From vintage prints to contemporary poster art; from books and movies to blogs and podcasts - we selected five sources which are interesting databases full of print and poster stories, facts, galleries and news. Enjoy watching!

1. The Poster Boys

Two designers, Brandon Schaefer and Sam Smith, talk about the world of graphic design, explore the history of poster design, share their thoughts and influences. Among the podcasts prepared by Poster Boys you can find Cuban film posters, Penguin Books, episodes about designers such as Paul Rand, Saul Bass, an episode about the Polish Poster School and much more. Of course, you can not only listen but also watch - the gallery on Poster Boys blog shows nice poster selection, related to each discussed topic.

2. The movie - Graphic Means

The documentary which shows the story and process of graphic design production from the 1950s through the 1990s - from linecaster to photocomposition, and from paste-up to PDF. The independent film, directed and produced by Briar Levit is now in production and you can support it by pre-ordering your copy here. In the meantime - check the official trailer:

For more info and updates - check also the GM Facebook page.

3. The book - Posters: A global History

This publication by Elizabeth Guffey tells the story of posters from nineteenth century to the contemporary time: works of propaganda and protest, pop culture projects, advertising - both familiar and lesser-known examples from the Soviet Union, China, Eastern and Western Europe, the U. S. and elsewhere. It shows the lives of posters, describes where and considers why they were made.

4. Poster Poster

The website not only for vintage poster lovers, but also for those, who like to know the updates about contemporary posters, exhibitions, competitions and artists. An interesting part of the Poster Poster page is the "Masters" section where you can find presentations of famous, experienced poster creators from all over the world.

5. Poster/Blog

Facebook page about current poster exhibitions, competitions and publications. Follow it if you want to keep up with the news!

Vintage fashion in the graphic art - Vienna exhibition

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Thu, 24 Mar 2016 16:10:00 +0100

If you like unique vintage garments, old charming fashion illustrations or vintage posters and prints - the MAK exhibition FASHION UTOPIAS: Haute Couture in the Graphic Art is something for you. Selection of 200 pieces from MAK collection contains illustrated books, posters and magazines from the late 15th century to the 1930s. It shows the history of trends, designs, passion, fabric and materials, splendor and utility, features and details appearing and disappearing over the centuries in fashion art and industry.

The exhibition will be open from April 13 to September 4 in MAK, Vienna.

Read and see more on Textille is more!

Dagobert Peche, Die Moden den Wiener Werkstätte, Vienna ca. 1920, litograph - one of prints from MAK collection

RM's special selection: vintage vehicles

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 20:04:00 +0100

Are you a fan of vintage cars or aviation motives? Or maybe you know someone who loves good, old machines and you're looking for some unique gift for him / her? Check our special selection of prints and posters with vintage vehicles from Rue Marcellin's collection:

On the left - La 18 CH Peugeot 1925 Original Print, on the right - TALBOT French Automobile Magazine Advertisement 1930

Na strazy poslkiego nieba Polish Airforce 1955 Original Poster

Berner Flugtage (Bernese Flight Days) Original Swiss Aviation Poster

Flying or driving - what would you choose?

Vintage calendars

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 15:22:00 +0100

The beginning of the year is a good moment to show some nice old calendars which are memories of past years. Among dozens of vintage calendars shown on many websites we chose those who are, in our opinion, the most interesting examples. Be sure to check sources of those pictures - they hide much more treasures!

Pages from 1904, 1903 calendar by Theo van Hoytema (from Flickr album created by Gemeentemuseum Den Haag - here)

Calendar pages from sources collected by Agence Eureka (more - here):

1948 calendar (book spread), more in Michael Newhouse's Flickr photostream - here.

And last (and the latest) examples -1962 Dai Nippon Printing Co. calendar, designed by Tadashi Ohashi and 1977 Dalmine calendar, designed by T. Tateischi & R. Pieraccini; both from the set of vintage calendars on Grain Edit (see more here):

Vintage fashion, vol. 1: Instagram inspirations

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 02:05:00 +0100

Vintage fashion invariably charms us on films, images, posters or photographs of (or inspired by) old times. The sophisticated tailoring, intricate details and hand-crafted textiles are qualities appreciated and eagerly emulated today. We also constantly remain under their impression. In first part of our posts about vintage fashion we show a couple of our favourite Instagram profiles, which are great sources of inspirations and treasuries full of vintage clothing.

1. Vera Vague Vintage (@veravaguevintage)

The shop with impressive collection of vintage clothes - from XIXth century dresses, to costumes from 50's and 60's. Among many interesting things - some unique victorian and eduardian garments with delicate laces:

2. TROVE VINTAGE BOUTIQUE (@trovevintageboutique)

In this shop you'll also find a lot of lovely vintage garments, including such a beautiful things:

3. Pia Storm, Vintage Fashionista (@piastorm)

This vintage blogger from Copenhagen shows that "vintage" may be not only a fashion, but also a lifestyle. On her Insta feed you'll find i.a. a lot of inspiring outfits, subtle vintage pastels and delicate jewelry:

4. ADORED VINTAGE (@adorevintage)

The place where you can find not only clothes, bags or jewelry, but also house & decor accesories plus bright, eye-catching photos of inspiring interior details.

If you have your own favourite Instagram profiles, which show vintage fashion pearls - share with us in comment!

Inspired by vintage... Clips & animations

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Tue, 1 Dec 2015 21:26:00 +0100

As we mentioned couple of times, we like to follow vintage things as well as to watch contemporary projects inspired by vintage mood, style and aesthetics: fashion, design, art, movies and animation. Here we have three examples from the last field: movie shorts inspired by...

1. Vintage books: this motion picture by Henning M. Lederer is a very nice set of 55 vintage book covers, with animated geometrical elements:

2. Vintage fashion: short video by Sabine Bein is a kind of animated journey across parts of vintage fashion history and profiles of the most popular fashion brands:

3. Vintage photos: in music video for "Zerbait Asmatugo Dugu" by Berri Txarrak (Direction & Animation: Joseba Elorza) motion vintage collages are connected with harder guitar sounds, which gives additional contrast:

Effects of connecting old and new things can be classy and nostalgic or funny and suprising - and that's the point! For more contemporary projects inspired by vintage things - check also our previous post When past meets future - modern projects based on vintage elements.

Questions about the Future of Print

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 16:07:00 +0100

In the time when we have more and more technologic resolutions and digitalized versions of publications, we often ask ourlseves questions: What will happen with printing? Will there be a place for prints in future? And finally: Should we really treat digital and paper versions as opponents or rather think about them as resolutions, which can happily and effectively work next to each other?

In fact, those considerations are not only about the printing itself. They are also reflections about media durabilities (is digital medium always more durable than paper version - and what actually "durability" really means here) or about professions, roles and specializations of people, which participate in process of creation and distribution.

The Future of Print - documentary film by Epilogue, is an attempt to find answers to these and other questions related to printing, selling and saving paper publications. Even if the most part of this project shows books as main "heroes", it's definitely not only about them - it helps to think about this subject in wider way.

During watching the video you'll have an opportunity to meet printers, book sellers or people specialized in other areas related to printable projects, who share their stories and observations, worries and hopes. Thanks to them The Future of Print becomes a warm and a bit nostalgic journey through the world filled with the smell of print and with rustling of paper pages but, at the sime time, it's a crisp and honest report of what's happening now with prints and a forecast of what can happen next.

See the video below:

EPILOGUE: The Future of Print from EPILOGUEdoc on Vimeo.

Making of a poster: virtual printing simulator by MoMA

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Mon, 9 Nov 2015 17:19:00 +0100

Today we would like to remind you some good tool, which is a must in our "Making of a poster" series. If you don't know it yet, and you want to know more about printing methods, there's a great opportunity to see the virtual printing workshop and to expand your knowledge in nice and interesting way. Museum of Modern Art prepared special interactive project, which demonstrates main printmaking processes: woodcut, etching, lithography and screenprint. Each step is described and shown through an animated image.

Additionally, it includes pictures of more than fourty prints from the Museum's collection so you can also see the effects of use of each technique.

Check and try this project here.

Making of a poster: Lithography

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 23:24:00 +0100

It's been a while since we started our journey across poster creation and printing methods - after letterpress printing and poster stories it's time for another printing technique, lithography, which was often used by poster makers from the past. The name comes from Ancient Greek; Lithos means "stone" and graphein - "to write". The print is, in fact, placed on a stone with a smooth surface, which is a basis for this type of print. It was invented in early XIXth century and for that time it was a main method of commercial color printing until it was replaced by offset lithography - says Kate Desforges, visual artist and printmaker working on a stone lithography print at the Leicester Print Workshop. - It’s a very intuitive process. (…) I think that the intuitive part of it challenges me and I like that. (...) In any other printmaking technique is a certain physical boundary between the image and the artist's mind and the reproduction of this image on the matrix in front of them. In lithography there is no intermedium, there is brain, hand, stone.

You can listen to this story and see the whole process here:

Kate Desforges - Stone Lithography from Bill Newsinger on Vimeo.

Interior inspiration: RM's posters in minimalist black & white spaces

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 18:32:00 +0200

White walls, big windows, clean spaces - in simple, minimalist interior poster can work as a stylish detail or a strong color accent. We connected three chosen prints from our collection with this kind of rooms to show that vintage poster + modern interior is a well matched couple.

Posters used here:

1. Polish Swissair Travel Poster

2. Swiss Industries Fair Basle Czech 1933 Original Poster

3. ST RAPHAËL Quinquina Apéritif - Rouge / Blanc 1933 Original Advertising Print

Poster stories

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 12:14:00 +0200

We would like to share with you two short movies which are great reflections of poster passion, seen and presented from two points of view: creators and collectors. Enjoy watching!

1. My passion: Posters

Sophie Churcher, a specialist in the 19th and 20th Century Posters department, tells stories of rare works and describes their special features. This movie was prepared as a part of series of films created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Christie’s South Kensington.

2. Graphic Wonderland

Contepmporary yet nostalgic journey across the land of posters created in New Zealand: charming imperfection of hand painted works; silkscreen printing process; travel posters encouraging to discover beautiful sceneries and visit new places. Characteristic details: hand painted letters, vibrant colors, a pinch of eroticism and a bit exaggerated details of idealized worlds. Creators talk about their work but also describe how they perceive their projects in retrospect. They also give subjective answers for the one important question: what's the difference between fine art and commercial / poster art?

As we can read in the film description: These posters are more than just advertising; they make people dream.

Paper magic, part II: playing with shadow and light

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 13:17:00 +0200

In the first part we showed tiny, richly decorated paper theaters in which colours and shapes played the main role. Now it's time to revive the paper (and not only paper) forms using light and shadow.

Shadow puppetry - inspiration and tradition

The one of greatest inspirations for that kind of art can be found in shadow puppet theaters, which are popular in various cultures, especially in Asia (Indonesia, Thailand Malaysia, China, India, Nepal) but also in Turkey, Greece or France. Shadow puppetry has an old tradition - for example, the earliest references to it came even from the 8th century. In traditional shadow theatres are used three-dimensional wooden forms or flat leather puppets.

Silouette animation

Contemporary shadow puppets are made from various materials, such as paper, wood or plastic. Today such puppets are used not only in special theaters but also in short animated movies or music videos.

The foremost pioneer of silouette animation was a German film director, Lotte Reininger. She made her motion pictures more than ten years before Disney. Below - one of her works:

Here you can read more about this creative woman.

And another example of this kind of animation - Les Trois inventeurs from 80's made by Michel Ocelot - French writer, designer and director of animated films and television programs:

Dioramas

Dioramas are miniature worlds with tiny props and figures. They also have quite long tradition, which reaches up even to the 6th century. Of course, when we're talking about miniature worlds, we also must mention about vintage dollhouses, which are a great inspiration for contemporary diorama creators.

Like shadow puppetry, dioramas also are made not only of paper, but it's quite popular material, often used for creating this type of little landscapes. For example, Tatebanko, very popular in 17th century, was a Japanese art of making dioramas out of paper. Some of those paper creations look quite similar to paper theaters.

Here are contemporary paper cutted dioramas and theather of lights, inspired by vintage mood. First - Boucheron, Theater of Lights - an interactive experience created in paper art and stop motion, which shows 120 years of history of the famous french jeweler Boucheron:

Boucheron, 26 Place Vendôme, Héliodon from Barthélemy Antoine-Loeff on Vimeo.

And paper diorama, prepared as an effect of cooperation of Cognac house Courvoisier and creative agency White Label; the installation was unveiled as part of L'Atelier de Courvoisier:

Alchimie de Courvoisier - Projected Paper Diorama from Davy and Kristin McGuire on Vimeo.

Sources:

A short history of dioramas

Shadowlight.org

The history of Indonesian puppetry Theater (Wayang)

Photo of shadow puppets used in this post:

Magdalena Koscianska (source)

Paper magic, part I: Paper Theater

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Tue, 8 Sep 2015 11:16:00 +0200

Some time ago we showed our selection of inspiring vintage toys, now it's time for another special thing, which gives a lot of joy since late 18th century - for little owners, as well as for adults. Tiny paper theaters - richly decorated scenes with illustrated sceneries, printed on paperboard and ready to assemble at home. It's not only a charming decoration, but also a kind of interactive toy, a great tool which can be used to play and to learn at the same time. That's why in some places paper teathers are still popularized and really appreciated. Older versions of theaters from previous centuries can be seen in toy museums, such as Toy Museum in Karpacz (Poland), where this paper scene is a part of collection of Henryk Tomaszewski (founder of Wroclaw Mime Theater):

Here's also an example of paper doll from the exhibition of Toy Museum in Roden (Netherlands):

A cradle of toy theaters is based in London, in Pollock's Toy Museum which is famous mainly because of this kind of toys. There is also the Pollock's Toy Shop where you can buy your own toy theater. Shop was originally established in the 1880s by its namesake, Benjamin Pollock - creator of paper teaters.

On this 1920 newsreel you can see how Mr. Pollock created his toy teathers:

Pollock's Toy Museum even prepared an app which gives an opportunity to create your own victorian "paper" teather - of course, digitally:

And even though the real charm of toy theatres is hidden in paperboards, from now, if you can't take your own paper theater with you, there's always a possibility to take an alternate, digital version.

Other great sources of images and infos about whole paper theaters and single elements - backgrounds, scenes, pieces:

50 Watts

This Pinterest feed with really good examples of toy theaters

Photos: Magdalena Koscianska (more about toy museums - here)

Vintage bicycle fashion vol. 2: the Tweed Run - retro cycling

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 19:40:00 +0200

In Vintage bicycle fashion vol. 1 you could find insprations from the past. This time we will show you how they inspire people today and how vintage fashion, connected with cycling, became stylish and popular way of spending their time. If we're talking about stylish retro cycling, classic garments and vintage fashion on two wheels, we just can't miss the Tweed Run: The Tweed Run is a metropolitan bicycle ride with a bit of style. We take to the streets in our well-pressed best, and cycle through the city's iconic landmarks. Along the way, we stop for a tea break and a picnic stop, and we usually end with a bit of a jolly knees-up - we can read here, on official Tweed Run website. First edition took a place in 2009. From this time, year by year, people in London go across the city centre on their vehicles, in traditional British cycling attire.

Of course, vintage cycling is popular not only in London. Other countries also have their version of retro cycling festivals, such as Tweet Ride in Alabama (below - photos by Todd Douglas, see whole series here):

and Tweed Run Budapest (photos by Zsolt Szabo, more - here):

See also vintage Cycle Chic from streets of Copenhagen, here. Those people truly show that bicycle is not only the lovely way of transport but also very stylish element of their vintage image.

For more vintage inspirations check also our Pinterest set - Vintage Bicycles.

Vintage bicycle fashion vol. 1: garments, posters, revolutions

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Sat, 4 Jul 2015 20:37:00 +0200

Cycles + fashion + vintage - that's really nice connection. Regardless of whether you use the bicycle for everyday rides, or do not use it too often (or at all), you may know that cycling has quite rich story - not only as a kind of sport but also as (life)style, changing trends and much more: social revolutions. As fans of vintage cycling fashion (and, of course, of vintage cycling posters) we would like to present couple of sources which are a great reflections of vintage cycling. Just check:

Wheels of Change

Today most of us have an opportunity to decide if it will be better to wear a flexible, convenient cycling outfit or to ride gracefully through the streets in a stylish retro costume. While watching dozens of female cyclists on the streets, we rarely wonder how controversial was a view of the lady on a bike (let alone view lady in trousers) in the past. There was even such thing as a list of Dont's for Women on Bicycles (circa 1895). Meanwhile, for many of our ancestors bike was more than "just" a comfortable, practical and environment-friendly way of transport. It was a symbol of social change and hardly acquired female independence. More about those changes you can read in the book Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way). More on Brain Pickings (picture source).

Cycling in Posters

The book Cycling in Posters is a collection of nineteenth-century bicycle posters, which can be regarded not only as a story of vehicles, but also of changing bicycle dress-code. You can see the ladies in long dresses, however - more and more often changed for equally stylish and more comfortable sport versions of women’s wardrobe.

Source: Season Books

Posters from Rue Marcellin's collection

First bicycle ads are often unusual, eccentric and fanciful. In our collection you can also find posters for vintage cycling lovers:

1. Cycles Cottereau Original French 1896 Poster

2. Cycles RAD 1910 Original Poster

3. Pannetton Cycles 1900s Original Poster

In second part we will also show how vintage fashion inspires contemporary cyclists, how it still stays "alive" in our times... and much more. If you like vintage cycling, than stay tuned!

Making of a poster: Letterpress

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 00:39:00 +0200

After our series about vintage typography, we're starting a little journey across printing methods, poster design, working process and all which is related with making of a poster. First - letterpress. Below - the story (and process) of this beautiful printing technique. As you'll hear during watching this short movie, it was invented about 1450 by Johannes Gutenberg. Contemporary letterpress is based on traditional printing process and printers often use old renovated press.

Upside Down, Left To Right: A Letterpress Film from Danny Cooke on Vimeo.

As elements and compositions are carefully hand pieced, this method is labor-intensive but it gives really nice and unique effect. Each piece has its own character so letterpress is often treated as good opposite to the digital printing. It's also great for vintage projects.

Another special thing is that letterpress gives an opportunity to obtain convex elements, using very tick paper. In this case noble cotton paper + old printing machines is a really great connection. That's why letterpress, even though it requires more patience and takes more time, is still valued by many printing lovers.

More about letterpress:

For Print Only (A Division of Underconsideration) - place with a lot of inspiring printed projects (not only letterpress - you can search for your inspiration by print method or project type)

Vintage Letterpress - Facebook Page and Dawanda Shop with beautiful letterpress printing plates

More about printing process on Oh So Beautiful Paper

Letterpress* - Facebook page in Polish but with a lot of inspiring photos, which you can check here

When past meets future - modern projects based on vintage elements

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Mon, 8 Jun 2015 18:38:00 +0200

In one of our posts from the past we played a little bit with "time machine", connecting vintage posters from our shop with contemporary images. As we really like this kind of projects, we would like to show you a couple of examples, in which Past meets Future - and as you'll see, together they can have a really good fun!

1. Alexey Kondakov collages

Ukrainian artist used figures from classical paintings and placed them in conteporary spaces to make intriguing and a bit humorous collages with a dose of nice distance. More - here.

2. Outings Project

A great connection of museum art pieces from the past and contemporary street art. This global participative project was initiated by Julien de Casabianca, a French visual artist and filmmaker and it appeared in 28 cities around the world so far (in 12 of them - made by participants). Check how it looks in urban spaces here.

3. Oldies + Photoshop - collages by Giacomo Carmagnola

Another collage series but this time artist used various types of visual arts - mainly photos and sculptures - and the effect is more mysterious and a bit disturbing. See all works here.

4. Bonobo - Cirrus, official video

This labor-intensive and detailed video created by Cyriak is a lovely example of motion collage, made of dosens of vintage photos and fragments of old movies. Great music connected with this image gives an effect which is impressive and memorable:

Vintage typography & lettering, part IV - actions & resources

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 27 May 2015 16:16:00 +0200

The last part of our series about vintage typography is a set of of various areas of our typographic journey - from packages and labels to street discoveries and playing with letters found in library. We hope that you'll enjoy it. Just check our links and have a nice time with those beautiful vintage letters!

Vintage packages and labels

Great source of vintage typography is Once New Vintage. In addition to vintage packages and labels you can find there also other beautiful examples of vintage typography in use from various sources - even unusual ads or lettering on buttons, like below:

Museum of typography

If you'll have an opportunity to visit Germany, go to Museum of typography (Buchstabenmuseum) in Berlin - a place with great examples of vintage, as well as of modern typographic letters and characters. You can find there a lot of beautiful signs and neons. Museum has 10 years, place was established in 2005 by Barbara Dechant and Anja Schulze. Here are couple of photos from Buchstabenmuseum's Facebook site:

Searching of typography on the streets

Literolap (Typo-catcher) and Wytypowane are Polish initiatives, that aim to found, collect, and remind examples of letters hidden on city streets - buildings, shops signs, trolleys, etc. Literolap is focused on the area of one city - Torun and Literolap is a nationwide action where people send their examples from various parts of Poland. Here are some photos from Literolap:

Playing with vintage typography

And for a dessert - some special thing: Polona Typo - place where you can play with letters from Polonia Library's resources. Just type your text there and see the effect. Lovely way to procrastinate. Here's our example:

And here are links to previous parts of our series of typographic posts:

Part I - books, boards, posters

Part II - neons

Part III - hand painted signs

For constant dose of typographic inspirations - follow our Pinterest boards: Vintage Typography and Vintage Package.

Magic charm of vintage toys: rockers & wheels

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 20 May 2015 23:30:00 +0200

There is something magical and nostalgic in vintage toys. Even when we grow up, child inside of us likes to find this magic from time to time... or even more often. ;)

Illustrated papercuts, detailed dollhouses, wooden bricks and those mobile toys - rocking horses, cosmic tricycles, pedal cars, participated with dozens of kids in their special journeys.

Among many wonderful online examples of vintage toys we choosed twelve to show here, in our post. Yes, choice wasn't easy - especially that when you start to watch, it's really hard to take your eyes off of all those toy collections. Anyway - here they are, our favourites (or at least a really nice part of our favourite list):

Vehicles for young riders

1. Green art deco tricycle, source: Pinterest

2. Sky King - tricycle from 30's (currently - also reproduced), photo source: We heart it

3. Early Red Dot Tin Pedal Car Riding Racer Toy, found on antiquehelper.com

4. 1930's Gendron kid peal car, restored and with Murray wheel caps, source: liveauctioneers.com

Horses

1. Wooden rocking horse, found on Bohemian Wornest

2. Crandall Hobby Horse, ca. 1880, source: pbs.org

3. Wooden toy, decoration of one of Polish toy shops, source: Rue Marcellin's Instagram profile

4. 1950s coin-operated red pegasus, found on Dinosaurs and Robots

Wooden pull toys

1. Ladislav Sutnar, "Lion" ca. 1930, source: MONDOBLOGO

2. Antique wooden sail boat, ca. 1930's, found on Etsy

3. Wooden grashopper, France, 1930 - found on Animalarium

4. Ladislav Sutnar, "Rhino" ca. 1930, source: MONDOBLOGO

Those toys with rockers and wheels are more than "just" beautiful things - they hide a lot of childhood memories, dreams and moments of joy. That's why we love them and what makes them so special.

Vintage typography & lettering, part III - hand painted signs

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Tue, 12 May 2015 16:35:00 +0200

In last part of our blog series about vintage typography and lettering you could read about neons. Now it's time for hand painted signs which are older that more advanced printing techniques, neon signs, motion pictures - and that's their power - their age.

Painter Chauncey Curtis works on a silent film advertisement for a theater in Mankato, Minnesota, in the 1930s. Courtesy Faythe Levine and Sam Macon.

Today many of the old hand painted signs are recognizable as "ghost signs", often destroyed and faded for example on buildings. However, even in these times of digital ads and new technologies, you can still find traditional sign painters who make signs the good old fashioned way. Their work often have this specific vintage character. For example, hand painting is still quite popular in Spain:

Contemporary hand painted signs in Andalusia

In the U.S. you can also find a new generation of sign painters. Faythe Levine & Sam Macon even directed a movie about their job and their stories:

And HandpaintedType is a project dedicated to preserving the practice of typography of street painters in India, where hand painted signs are still very popular and painters have their specific, rich and multicolored style. Fonts from hand painted signs are recreated and digitalized - neon letters and hand painted signs from city streets are often a great inspiration for typographers, who make digital fonts - and that's a very good example of this process. On Handpainted Type's website, next to the digitalized fonts, you can see the movie about the situation of Indian painters and check the gallery of their works on the streets.

Indian sign from Handpainted Type gallery

In era of signs and adverts, which are created digitally, printed or machine cut, the hand painted letters often stand out from the rest of the mass-produced media as unique creations with a soul.

Articles about signs and sign painters:

Collectors Weekly - Artisanal Advertising: Reviving the Tradition of Hand-Painted Signs

99% Invisible - Hand Painted Signs

Web Urbanist - The incredible Lost and Found Art of Hand-Painted Signage

Photo sources: Collectors Weekly (1st picture) Magic Suitcase Blog (Spanish contemporary signs), HandpaintedType

Rue Marcellin's time machine

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 6 May 2015 16:59:00 +0200

Once on this blog characters from Rue Marcellin's poster & print collection came alive. Now we decided to use our time machine and let some of them move to modern times. ;) Here they are:

And here's how they look on original prints:

1. La Vie Parisienne - Conversation avec Mademoiselle - June 1921 Original Magazine Cover Print

2. La Vie Parisienne - En Roue Libre - circa 1920 Original Magazine Print

Would you like to see some of other characters from RM's prints in modern times? Choose your favourite print from our shop and let us now in the comment below!

(Photos used as backgrounds - via Unsplash.com)

Vintage typography & lettering, part II - neons

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 15:22:00 +0200

In the second part of our journey through vintage letters we'll focus on signs, which lit up city streets for decades. We are experiencing a bit of a rediscovery of neons and are giving many of them a chance to shine again!

Story

The first kinds of neons were created in during the Renaissance, but there was obviously no gas inside the glass tubes. In the XVII century French astronomer, Jean Picard made some experiments with nobel gas, and this was a kind of birth of the oldest neons. More experiments were made in the XIX century by Faraday and by Geissler. These experiments included, for example, covering glass pipes with various kinds of chemical coatings. The XIX century was also a time when pipes, known as "Moore's pipes" (from the name of Daniel McFarlan Moore) were used for the first time one a bigger scale. At the time, they were still not very lasting very long, so at the beginning of the XX century Georges Claude created a kind of pipe, which could be constructed industrially, last much longer before burnout, and be used on a wider scale. They became very popular in 1920's and 30's. This was arguably the golden age of neon signs, and cities all over the world were being lit up.

And later? Well, it depends. In some countires they continued to be popular until the 1950's, later loosing popularity and having their come back in 1980's. In other countries, the greatest era of neons took a place in the 1960's and 70's. This includes many Eastern European cities, under communist rule. Unfortunately, many of them were abandoned or destroyed after this time.

Today

Today neons are often living their second life, and they are appreciated not only by niche enthusiasts, artists and art historians, but also simply by fans of old advertising and vintage style. Museums and exhibitions showcasing neons have been created in many cities around the world.

As there's no Vegas without neon signs, one of them is, of course, the Las Vegas Neon Museum, founded in 1996. Displayed outdoor ads and signs are placed here on over 6 acres:

A popular museum of neons (The Neon Muzeum) has been created in Warsaw, Poland in the city's oldest neighbourhood, the Praga District:

Another place, known as Neon Side Gallery has been arranged in Wroclaw:

And in Poznan, Poland where city streets where beautifully illuminated in the 1960's and 70's (a period also known as the "neonization" of Poznan), the city's National Museum also organized a special neon exhibition:

And here, check out a movie which shows the working process of making a contemporary neon (yes, this men is a hard worker!):

It's truly great to see that this kind of artwork is being rediscovered, and continues to generate enthusiasm and appreciation, and that there are people, who care to find, renovate these splendid signs, or to even take it a step further, and to create amazing new neon signs that can light up the world.

Sources and inspirations

For more inspirations - also check out these great instagram profiles showcasing vintage signs, neons, and letters:

@colorbyspiegel

@typenovel

Photo sources: New Old Stock (first photo), Magic Suitcase blog

Sources of contents: kapilar.pl inventors.about.com

>>> And if we're talking about Instagram, it's time for some good news - short time ago we also appeared on Instagram! Visit our Insta profile here: @ruemarcellin <<<

Vintage typography & lettering, part I - books, boards, posters

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 15:50:00 +0200

Good font is very important (often the most important) element of a good poster so - since we love both of these things - we prepared short set of vintage lettering inspirations.

First - Agence Eureka. This rich Flickr collection contains scans of many books and publications related to typography and lettering. A few of them below:

Source

Other interesting examples from this source are: alphabets, Plain & ornamental lettering and Lettres du noveau. In Agence Eureka's set you can also find other books, paper toys and other remarkable and inspiring examples of vintage prints.

The second thing we wanted to feature is a contemporary book for fans of good oldfashioned scripts - decorative, elegant letters, curvy forms and classy shapes collected in one book, Sripts, published by Themes & Hudson. This book is a result of a collaboration between Steven Heller and Louise Fili Ltd. Inside - over 300 scripts from pre-Modern to Modern - from France, Italy, Germany, and England as well as the United States.

Source

In Rue Marcellin's shop we also have something for typography & lettering lovers. If you like art noveau style, this piece may be something for you:

Lettres Art Nouveau 1900 Original Print

And if you like (literally) clean fonts, something from 30's, with a pinch of eroticism, you can hang it in on your wall:

Le Sourire - Au Coq d'Or - 1930 Original Magazine Illustration

And what's your favourite font, poster, book, or print? If you have some special examples of typography, lettering, or calligraphy - feel free to share them in comment below!

Vintage French Illustrations Take Motion and Come Alive!

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 18:39:00 +0200

We decided to choose two illustrations from Rue Marcellin's collection and let them live their life for a moment. ;) Two decades of difference, two various moods, both - illustrative, joyful and a bit nostalgic.

First - indoor entertainment at the famous Maxim's de Paris, men's conversations, glasses in hands and top hats on heads: Maxim's 1902 Original Print

And second one - outdoor adventure, female trip, wind in the sails and a pinch of elegance : La Vie Parisienne - Un Mousse d'Occasion - circa 1920 Original Magazine Print

Which one is your favorite?

Time for reading - Against All Odds: Polish Graphic Design 1919–1949

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 8 Apr 2015 15:53:00 +0200

(...) This 408 page volume is an overflowing treasure-trove of graphic work prior to the 50s–60s golden age of postwar Polish posters. - Steven Heller

Rypson examines the different faces of Modernism in Poland from the revival of the nation at the end of the First World War to the imposition of Stalinism in the late 1940s. He is an expert guide, supplying fast-paced narratives about the commercial, state and political clients for whom graphic designers worked. (...) - David Crowley, "Eye"

Design junkies need to buy this sucker immediately. - Will Schofield, 50watts.com

When you'll open book Against All Odds: Polish Graphic Design 1919–1949 by Piotr Rypson, (Polish art critic, art and literature historian), you'll know that those strong opinions are truly justified. Hard coverered publication designed by Przemek Dębowski and published by Karakter, hides a lot of carefully selected examples of graphic design created from time just after World War I till 50's: posters, stamps, ads, publications, packages, logotypes or even old invoices and blank forms. Designs which were created in the service of the state (for example - interesting and sometimes a bit unusual modifications of state emblem, created in times just after World War I when there were no precise regulations for using the shape of white eagle) or "not so serious" ads and projects, which sometimes are a bit funny. We have here rich review of many types of realisations, which currently are often definitely not easy to find.

From decorative compositions referring to folk motifs, through searching of new forms, to modern styles; from experimental typograhic compositions created by futurists to new order of functionalism; graphic projects used by collaborators and conspirators in hard times of Wold War II - all of them are nice parts of this great journey through the past decads of graphic design, but also of lifestyle in general.

This book is a "must have" for people who are interested in history and theory of art & graphic design, collectors, as well as for graphic designers, who are looking for a good dose of inspiration - as author rightly pointed out, many of contemporary creators willingly reach for inspiration from that period.

The book was first issued in Polish so below - photos of Polish version. More about English edition as well as about author of this book - here, on publisher's website.

English book cover version - source: karakter.pl, photos: M. Koscianska

Pictures in Motion - A look at Old Animation Tools and Optical Toys

noemail@noemail.org (Magda Koscianska) — Wed, 1 Apr 2015 09:57:00 +0200

For contemporary people pictures in motion are something extremely ordinary. Daily doses of ads on TV and the Internet, 3D movies, mobile presentations and animations make us accustomed to the fact that we live in a world full of motion pictures. Often we don't even have enough time to stop and think of how it all looked before mankind had the TV, cinema or mobile devices.

The world of motion picture has a very rich history, full of optical illusions, studies of visual perception and surprises. At the end of the XIX century most pre-film animation devices used a sequence of pictures showing progressive phases of motion. This was quite similar to the film reel method which is still well known to this day, many years after its invention. The main difference being that the pictures in the early days were hand-painted and - well, let's be honest - the story was much shorter and simpler than that of movies today. The method can be clearly seen on the zoopraxiscope (below). This kind of divices was created by photographer Eadweard Muybridge in 1879:

An impressive collection of optical toys belongs to Richard "Dick" Balzer, who has been passionate about this topic for forty years. Props from this great set (among them - phenakistiscopes, praxinoscopes, zoetropes, magic lanterns, etc. - most of them about 150 years old) can now be viewed as animated gifs (one example below). In these digitalized versions they are "alive" again and, what's most important here, now available for wider audience through the magic of the internet. If you want to see more, just check The Richard Balzer Collection blog.

Zoetrope from Richard Balzer's Collection, France - 1870

You can see how these various devices worked, and learn a little about their history in this brief video below:

What do contemporary motion pictures and old "magic" animation tools have in common? They're sources of entertainment and knowledge, they make us curious and give us fun...

Today, just as 150 years ago, even though our technology has advanced, pictures in motion still provide us with joy and a pinch of magic.

La Vie Parisienne Facebook Giveaway Contest

noemail@noemail.org (Paul Budny) — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 10:00:00 +0100

For those of you still not following us on Facebook, you should...because you'd know that we are currently running a La Vie Parisienne Contest. The requirements are simple. Just choose your favourite original La Vie Parisienne illustration at our online boutique, and place your vote in the form of a comment on the Facebook post below. Make sure to explain why your selected illustration is your favourite! That's it! One lucky person will win the La Vie Parisienne illustration of their choice! We will be announcing the him or her on December 1st!

Rue Marcellin's La Vie Parisienne Facebook Contest

Touring the Museum of Montmartre and Renoir Gardens in Paris

noemail@noemail.org (Paul Budny) — Fri, 7 Nov 2014 11:59:00 +0100

A few weeks ago we decided to take a stroll through Montmartre and stumbled upon the Museum of Montmartre and the Renoir Gardens (Musée de Montmartre et Jardins Renoir). Persuaded by the wine tasting on offer after touring the museum, we decided to check it out.

It turns out that as its website advertises, it truly is one of the most charming museums in Paris. It was built in the seventeenth century as the Bel Air House and is currently the oldest standing building in Montmartre. During its heyday, it served as a residence and meeting place for many artists including Auguste Renoir, Suzanne Valadon and Émile Bernard, who held their studios here among others.

The museum's permanent collection is composed of paintings, posters and drawings signed by the likes of Toulouse-Lautrec, Modigliani, Kupka, Steinlen, Valadon, and Utrillo. Together, the artworks recount the history of Montmartre, including the artists' studios and the infamous animated cabarets of the Lapin Agile and the Moulin Rouge. My favourite was an entire room dedicated to the French Cancan. Another features rare zinc plates of dreamlike scenes from the famous shadow theatre Le Chat Noir, the first modern cabaret founded in 1881.

Three gorgeous gardens dedicated to Auguste Renoir surround the Museum. They are named in memory of the impressionist painter who lived on-site between 1875 and 1877, where he painted several masterpieces including the famous le Bal du Moulin de la Galette (“The Moulin de la Galette Ball”), La Balancoire (“The Swing”), and Jardin de la rue Cortot (“Rue Cortot Garden”). The Renoir Gardens offer breathtaking views of the Montmartre vineyard, the Clos Montmartre, and northern cityscape of Paris.

The wine tasting in the gardens made for an awesome finish. We learned a little about some French wine regions, as well as got the opportunity to do a little people watching. It also provided some unexpected entertainment. At one point during the tasting, when the sommelier was explaining the technical differences between Sauternes and other sweet wines, a non-French speaking lady elbowed her way into the front of the group, took the bottle from him and proceed to pour herself a large glass of Sauternes. The sommelier had to literally fight her off the bottle and attempt to explain to her that this was not a self-serve buffet. After the situation was clarified the lady continued to shadow him for the entire duration of the tasting as if expecting him to change his mind on the manner. Needless to say she left disappointed perhaps in search of another bottle.

Have you have any funny experiences during a recent trip?

Unique Gift Giving With Original Vintage Posters and Illustrations

noemail@noemail.org (Paul Budny) — Mon, 3 Nov 2014 09:36:00 +0100

A whirl-wind of gift giving during the winter holidays is almost upon us! Year after year you stretch your imagination to purchase the perfect present for even the most hard to buy for people on your list! If you’re tired of giving the same old sweaters and gift cards, why not try to spice up someone you love’s home décor?

Rue Marcellin has the perfect gifts for anyone on your list who loves history, fashion, advertising, vintage design and retro home décor! People how are artistic, nostalgic or just plain love to decorate their homes with nice things will truly appreciate getting an authentic vintage poster this holiday season!

Vintage posters often portray retro advertising and have a feel-good, “live for the moment” feel to them. Historical propaganda is another popular theme in vintage posters and can transport you back in time while staying snug in your living room. Fashion and the beautiful men and women that reveled in it is another hot seller. Posters of beautiful, elegant women with smiling faces, fantastic dresses and draped in pearls can make a stunning decoration! Art deco plays a large role in many vintage prints that makes matching color themes easy as bold colors were often used.

Large authentic prints of traditional vintage posters can make a great conversation pieces in just about any space. We’ve seen marvelous designs that include our posters in kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, man caves, home offices and more! Hung perfectly with a simple frame in a well-lit area these posters make great decorations for just about any theme. Your gift recipient will be amazed at your thoughtful and unique gift this year!

Rue Marcellin has a large variety of sought-after prints that are shipped for free with great care. You can buy with confidence due to our no-hassle return policy as well. We know that you can find the perfect poster to give as a gift this winter!