MANUAL OF POSTERCRAFT - BY Will Clemence - INTRODUCTION - ONE can hardly compress the entire work of the poster-writer into 0 the space of a small volume, nor indeed can one expect to become a competent poster-writer by book learning alone. Constant practice and tuition in the various branches is essential in the making of a craftsman. Not every workshop is fitted to supply such an all-embracing apprenticeship, however admirable their general production may be. I trust that this book ill be particularly welcomed by those whose work has becn principally confined to one or two branches of the craft, and that its use as a reference may bc the means ol bringing further varied work into the shop. There arc a few aspects of the trade which I have left untouched, as these like figure-drawing for illustration, have been dealt with at length in other works. The wideness of range has also made necessary the compressiiol of many chapters, but I have endeavoured, wherc possible, to outline the main details of processes rind operations. I also wish to thank all those who, directly or indirectly, have assisted in the compilation of this book. Particularly would I thank those whose work is reproduced, the craftsmen with whorl1 I have been privilegecl to work, and the advertisers and employers who have provided the work. For photographs and illustrations, I am indebted to Messrs. Sheldons Ltd., The Acrograpll Company Ltd., Selectasine Silk Screens Ltd., Supcr-Tools Ltcl., Taylor and Heaton, and Mr. Edgar Lupton. -- CONTENTS -- . . ... ... .. .. ... ...INTRODUCTION I . THE WORK OF THE POSTER-WRITER ... I1 . EQUIPPING THE WORKSHOP ... ... ... ... ... l 4 I11 . LETTERING AND LAYOUT ... IV . ROUGHING-OUT THE POSTER V . COMPOSITION OF POSTERS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 12 18 23 V1 . FREE-BRUSH, MAHLSTICK AND RULESTICK V11 . PERMANENT POSTERS ... ... ... ... ... ... 27 31 V111 . TRANSPARENCIES, BANNERS AND STRETCHERS ... 36 IX . THE NEED FOR ILLUSTRATION ... ... ... 41 X . THE VARYING NEEDS OF THE CINEMA AND THEATRE 47 XI . ART POSTERS AND SHOWCARDS ... ... ... 54 XI1 . CUT-OUT POSTERS AND DISPLAYS ... ... ... 59 XI11 . CUT-OUT LETTERS ... ... a.. S.. ... 72 XIV . THEATRE STILL-BOARDS AND SCREENS ... ... 78 XV . THE USES OF THE AIR-BRUSH ... ... ... 84 XVI . THE ROLLER AND SILK SCREEN PROCESS XVII . HINTS ON SCREENCRAFT ... ... ... XVIII . SIGN WORK ... ... ... ... ... XIX . SAMPLE SKETCHES ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 91 100 109 114 XX . A NOVEL REPEAT PROCESS FOR SHOWCARDS ... 117 XXI . SANDWICH BOARDS AND STREET ADVERTISING ... 123 XXII . MECHANICAL AND ANIMATED DISPLAYS ... ... 127 XXIII . RESTRICTIONS, PERMITS AND SITES ... XXIV . BRIEF HINTS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 135 137 CHAPTER I - THERE are many artistically-minded people capable of producing, in tniniature form, pleasing examples of pictorial and lettering art. But watch these self-same people, even with the necessary equipment, attempt to translate that sarne miniature into its commercial state- -the handwritten poster. Both the niethods employed and the result achieved are invariably anything but satisfactory. It is therefore apparent that an entirely different method of procedure is to be adopted to maltc the production of hand-painted posters cconorrically possible. One can hardly expect the newly-graduated art-school student to be well versed in the practical side of yostcr-writing yet the craftsman is 90 per cent. practical. Strangely enough, it is the art student who is one of the poster-writers keenest critics, but that is prior to the students entry into the commercial field. It js soon realized that time-saving in execution is imperative. All the separate letters cannot be drawn out in full. Often, T-squares and rules must be dispensed with for letter formation. Briefly, every thing is conmercialized...