Spotted: Arizona, the Land of History and Mystery (c. 1925)
Categories: Found Art
If you can't make the trip out to the The Boston Public Library to take a long, drooling look at its print department, take advantage of its updated flickr set. 
Boston Public Library via Flickr
Recently added, was an album of the library's poster collection, including more than 350 vintage travel posters from the 1920s and '40s, aka "The Golden Age of Travel."
The posters were commissioned by travel agents and offices as modes of transportation developed and the railways opened to those looking for luxury travel. Included in the collection are prints of American, European, and Asian cities -- then reachable by boat, plane, and train.
The poster above, "New Mexico and Arizona rockies. Land of history and mystery" is a lithography by The Willmarths. The print is described as a "poster showing a woman purchasing beads and pottery from a Native American man."
It was issued in 1925 -- obviously before there was much focus on gender or cultural sensitivity in advertising (though not to say it's much better now).
The poster actually has a few elements in common with local artist Steven Yazzie's indoor mural that still sparks discussions and commentary at the bar at Carly's Bistro in downtown Phoenix ... you'll have to see it to believe us.)
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| Boston Public Library via Flickr |
| The Lure of National Parks by Dorothy Waugh (c. 1930) |
The posters are not for sale, but are viewable in person on the third floor of the McKim Building at the Central Library in Boston.
You can check out the Flickr set here. For more information, check out the library website.
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