Object Details
Manufacturer
Continental Litho. Corp.
Sponsor
The Vitaphone Corporation
Distributor
Vitagraph, Inc.
Sponsor
Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc.
Physical Description
Airplanes swarm past banner reading the title of the movie. Two photographs below, one of airfield with airplanes and crew, the other with officer pinning on medal. Full text:
"Poland's Warriors of the Air
Like Knights of the Old Defend
The Freedom of the World
Polish War Relief"
"Wings of Steel in Technicolor
Produced in Cooperation with the
United States Army Air Corps
with
Douglas Kennedy
Herbert Anderson
Tom Neal- Ralph Byrd
Frank Wilcox"
Copyright: "This advertising material is the property of Vitagraph, Inc. and is leased pursuant to an agreement which provides: "The exhibitor agrees that the advertising materials are leased for use only in conjunction with the exhibition at the theatre specified of the respective motion pictures identified in such materials and only for the purpose of properly advertising and exploiting said respective motion pictures at said theatre and the exhibitor agrees that he will not trade, sublease sell, give away or otherwise use or permit others to use such materials."
Summary
Fly Now: The National Air and Space Museum Poster Collection
Throughout their history, posters have been a significant means of mass communication, often with striking visual effect. Wendy Wick Reaves, the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery Curator of Prints and Drawings, comments that "sometimes a pictorial poster is a decorative masterpiece-something I can't walk by without a jolt of aesthetic pleasure. Another might strike me as extremely clever advertising … But collectively, these 'pictures of persuasion,' as we might call them, offer a wealth of art, history, design, and popular culture for us to understand. The poster is a familiar part of our world, and we intuitively understand its role as propaganda, promotion, announcement, or advertisement."
Reaves' observations are especially relevant for the impressive array of aviation posters in the National Air and Space Museum's 1300+ artifact collection. Quite possibly the largest publicly-held collection of its kind in the United States, the National Air and Space Museum's posters focus primarily on advertising for aviation-related products and activities. Among other areas, the collection includes 19th-century ballooning exhibition posters, early 20th-century airplane exhibition and meet posters, and twentieth-century airline advertisements.
The posters in the collection represent printing technologies that include original lithography, silkscreen, photolithography, and computer-generated imagery. The collection is significant both for its aesthetic value and because it is a unique representation of the cultural, commercial and military history of aviation. The collection represents an intense interest in flight, both public and private, during a significant period of its technological and social development.
Credit Line
Bequest of Melvin Buchner
Date
circa 1941
Inventory Number
A20000549000
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
ART-Posters, Original Art Quality
Medium
Poster, Advertising, Movie
Dimensions
2-D - In Frame (H x W x D): 100.3 x 64.8 x 2.5cm (39 1/2 in. x 25 1/2 in. x 1 in.)
Country of Origin
United States of America
See more items in
National Air and Space Museum Collection
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nasm_A20000549000
