My boss occasionally pops into my office with a poster that is "oh so you!" This was the second poster she thrust into my arms with that phrase.
This is where I have to look a combination of elated and impressed--the former, for her finding it; the latter, for her knowing it was 'oh so me.' Oddly enough, she's been spot on every time.....this worries me.
Anyway, hopefully you are all asking yourselves why is this poster 'oh so me.' There are at least 5 obvious reasons:
1. The font is off-the-hook awesome. Who doesn't love vintage font-i-ness? I feel like I'm looking at a red-painted wood sign for Miss Milly's Piano Bar, complete with burlesque dancers; I can hear the tinkle of untuned standup, the crunch of peanut shells beneath my feet.
2. Flappers make me happy. Gimme a über-long necklace, no tits, and a cigarette holder and I'm a tommy-gun away from pure pleasure.
3. Sepia. Favorite tone for anything. Nuf said.
4. Mixing of geographical, cultural, and historical characters. I certainly want to be in a place where flamenco guitar players dip flapper girls--thats just crazy hot.
5. This "most exciting discotheque" is all of 3 blocks from my current apartment. For me, having this poster in my house would be like the equivalent of having that bumper sticker that says 'think global, buy local'....because I'd be thinking awesomely by decorating locally. And frankly, that's all I can do for Harlow's since I believe it's no longer extant. And as one of the cheapest posters in our auction (all of $50 and it's yours people) I think I can wave a flag of remembrance in my living room for this long-dead legend.
This poster is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
ReplyDeletehttp://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O561782/harlows-new-yorks-most-exciting-poster-mcdaniel-jerry-w/
I am the Director of the art gallery which represents Jerry W. McDaniel (www.jerrywmcdanielstudios.com) the designer-illustrator who created this yellow Harlow’s poster. Both the artist and I like very much the description you wrote about this poster. The poster is one of two Mr. McDaniel created for the Harlow’s discotheque. Both posters are in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, one of the greatest design museums in the world. The best known of the two is the large size (50.5 x 39.5 inches) black and white Harlow’s posters, the first one created by McDaniel in 1966. http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O561781/harlows-discotheque-on-242-east-poster-mcdaniel-jerry-w/
The yellow poster you presented in your blog was in the “Gone Tomorrow” exhibition of posters about buildings which do not exist anymore in New York. It was the very first exhibition of the new Poster Museum in New York. This exhibition took place before the actual opening of the museum, before the building was renovated, in October 2017.
http://www.ampthemag.com/the-real/new-yorks-poster-museum-will-feature-pop-exhibit-lost-new-york-venues/
https://gothamist.com/2019/06/20/poster_museum_nyc.php/gallery
Slide 9
Mr M<Daniel has created numerous vintage posters for sports, music, food and wine industry, for large corporations (Marlboro/Philip Morries, Int, for 25 years, Pan Am, Intercontinental Hoels, New York Times).
Comment made by Ileana Costea, PgD ileanacostea@yahoo.com