What is Poster?
[[File:Mucha-Moët & Chandon Crémant Impérial-1899.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Alphonse Mucha]] ''Moët & Chandon Crémant Impérial'' poster (1899) Colour lithography]] A '''poster''' is a large piece of printed [[paper]] that has a message, usually with [[picture]] of something. Posters are made to be shown in public on a [[wall]] or other flat surfaces. They were the main form of public advertising before the [[WWW|web]], and they are still used. Posters are used for [[advertising]], [[education]], [[propaganda]], and [[design|decoration]].<ref>Hillier, Bevis 1969. ''Posters''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.</ref><ref>Barnicoat, John 1979. ''Posters: a concise history''. London: Thames & Hudson. {{ISBN|0-500-20118-8}}</ref> They may also be copies of famous works of [[art]]. == Chromolithography and the poster == Chromolithography (color [[lithography]]) was invented by Engelmann & Son, who were granted a [[patent]] in 1837.<ref>Twyman, Michael 1970. ''Lithography 1800–1850''. Oxford University Press. p160</ref> After that, it was a matter of time before it reached full commercial development. Because of its low production costs, over the 50 years after the American Civil War, millions of chromolithographs were printed and were sold for under $10. [[Louis Prang]], a Bostonian, produced fine-art subjects, such as still lifes, landscapes, and classical subjects.<ref>Gallo, Max 2002. ''The poster in History''. W.W.</ref> Nevertheless, it was only after 1847 that the [[Jules Chéret]] posters showed their real potential.<ref name=H>Hutchinson H.F. 1968. ''The Poster: an illustrated history from 1860'', chapter 2. London: Studio Vista. {{ISBN|978-0289278673}}.</ref> === Examples === ====Jules Chéret==== <gallery> Image:Cheret, Jules - Le Pays des Fees (pl 181).jpg| In 1858 Chéret printed his first color poster in France. His art excelled in showing the body in movement.<ref>David Raizman 2003. ''History of modern design: graphics and products since the Industrial Revolution''. Laurence King. {{ISBN|9781856693486}}</ref