poster

Eye-catching printed paper announcement or advertisement that is exhibited to promote a product, event, or idea. Posters were popularized by the mid-19th-century invention of lithography, which allowed coloured posters to be produced cheaply and easily. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was noted for his poster art, which often advertised Parisian cabaret performers. Poster art flourished with the rise of the Art Nouveau style, as seen in the work of Alphonse Mucha. During World War I posters were used for recruiting and propaganda, and the industrial boom of the early 20th century gave rise to advertising posters for every conceivable product and event. The later rise of film and television advertising led to an eclipse in poster art.

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