Ringling_Barnum_HOLIDAYS_(1942)_One_Sheet_Flat

Ringling_Barnum_HOLIDAYS_(1942)_One_Sheet_Flat, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. From Chris Berry By the time that this litho was put up in September of 1942, thousands of Ringling-Barnum posters designed at the studios of Norman Bel Geddes had already been displayed across the length and breadth of the United States. Over the past several weeks you have seen several of those posters illustrated here. Although those posters produced by the Bel Geddes Studios are all in an avant garde style similiar to that of the well-known artist E. McKnight Kauffer, this piece from 1942 is the first Ringling-Barnum litho that actually has his signature on it. Born in Great Falls, Montana, Kauffer spent most of his career in England where he produced 140 posters for the London Underground. In 1940, as London was targeted by the Nazi blitz, Kauffer returned to New York, where at some point he became acquainted with John Ringling North. North and Bel Geddes commissioned Kauffer to create this poster for the "Holidays" spec of 1942 - produced by John Ringling North, designed by Norman Bel Geddes and Staged by John Murray Anderson. This particular poster - like many of those during the war years - also encourages passersby to "Buy Defense Bonds" - a tremendous patriotic campaign endorsed by Ringling-Barnum, Cole Bros and other shows. Incidentally, this same artwork was used as the cover of the 1948 Ringling-Barnum souvenir program book.