Posters and flyers

The poster as art

Which poster designer from the 1920s could ever have imagined that his work would one day hang on a museum wall? At the Louwman Museum you can admire numerous posters and other so-called auto memorabilia, created by various prominent artists who depict and promote many different brands.

The rise of advertising print

Thanks to improved technological possibilities in the field of lithography, the so called chromolithography, it became possible at the end of the 19th century to produce printed materials in large runs using the basic colors green, red and blue. In this way, the general public could be reached.

The poster as a collectors item

The popularity of advertising posters took off when the successful Czech artist Alphonse Mucha announced the performance of the play Gismonda in 1895 by means of a poster. The posters were torn from the advertising columns and the bill posters were even bribed to obtain this image.

The beginning of car advertising

As manufacturers of the latest invention that stood for modernity and progress, the car makers naturally could not lag behind! The same was true, in a sense, for organizers of car shows, for example. The general public could marvel at the different brands that they only knew from posters.

A lifestyle portrayed

On the posters of the car brands, they were selling more of a lifestyle than the product itself. The ladies were just as enchanting as a car! However, some clients felt that a man was more suitable to promote the automobile.

A popular remedy

Virtually all car manufacturers used advertising posters as a marketing tool because they could be produced relatively quickly and cheaply, and therefore could be used on a large scale to reach almost every potential car buyer. The posters were enthusiastically received from the very beginning and are still used today.

Book your tickets for the Louwman Museum

Plan your visit to the automobile museum. You will find the Louwman Museum just 15 minutes from The Hague Central Station.