Broadside and Poster Collection

1798-2012
5 folders, 1 tube (ca. 75 items)
Call no.: RB 034
rotating decorative images from SCUA collections

Printers and bibliographers use a bevy of terms to refer to works printed on one side (or sometimes both sides) of a single sheet, classified primarily by size. From large to small, posters, broadsides, and fliers refer to works used to convey a more or less focused message to an audience, often using illustrations or inventive typography to grab the attention.



Posters from Communist world, with an emphasis on the political and cultural transformations of the late 1980s through mid-1990s. The majority of posters originated in the Soviet Union, although there are examples from East Germany, China, and elsewhere.

See similar SCUA collections:

Background


An image of: Advertisement for O. Reynolds beehive, 1846

Advertisement for O. Reynolds beehive, 1846

Printers and bibliographers use a bevy of terms to refer to works printed on one side (or sometimes both sides) of a single sheet. Smaller imprints are typically called fliers or handbills, and in most cases, are intended for distribution by being handed out directly to readers. Broadsides and broadsheets (the terms are sometimes used interchangeably) are somewhat larger and are often intended for posting in a public place, as are the still larger posters and billboards, which more often than their smaller equivalents feature graphics as the center of design. As rife as the terms are, the substrate for printing can be just as variable, ranging from paper to vellum and parchment, silk or other fabrics, to a variety of other media. All of these forms are considered "ephemera" in that they were historically intended to be printed, distributed, and discarded.

Historically, broadsides and posters were most often printed using moveable type on a letterpress, though lithography or other technologies are not uncommon. Intended to catch the attention of passers-by, broadsides often feature a line or more of large text, and may be graced with typographical borders, woodcuts, or other illustrations. Historically, they were used to communicate focused information such as political proclamations, social messages, local events, or screeds of various types, and they became a primary tool for commercial advertisement. Some verge off into more or less purely artistic or literary expression.

Scope of collection

This growing collection contains a range of broadsides and posters that come from a variety of sources, and that are not part of other manuscript collections. The collection has been organized into four series to reflect its primary strengths: Communist and Post-Communist; Cultural, artistic, and literary broadsides; the lon-1960s; and political posters and broadsides. We expect that the collection will continue to grow.

Series descriptions

Posters from Communist world, with an emphasis on the political and cultural transformations of the late 1980s through mid-1990s. The majority of posters originated in the Soviet Union, although there are examples from East Germany, China, and elsewhere.

The series includes five brocade posters of Communist heroes printed at the East is Red Silk Weaving Factory in Hangzhou in 1969 or 1970. The posters include portraits of Mao Zedong (two sizes), Lenin, Stalin, Marx, and Engels.

This series includes an eclectic, miscellaneous mix of broadsides and posters, including poetical broadsides, advertisements for an traveling daguerreotypist and bee hive maker, and local cultural events.

This series contains posters originating in the long-1960s, the period from roughly 1964-1975. Most reflect the political, cultural, and countercultural expressions of the era, and particularly the civil rights and antiwar movements. Of special note are a handful of posters from SNCC, a complete set of the Street Wall Journal, issued by the Committee to Defend the Panther 21 in 1970 (and including a variant of vol. 1, no. 1)

Politics are an historical focal point for mass communication using broadsides, with intentions, depending on the political system, ranging from issuing decrees to encouraging obedient citizenry or soliciting support from the electorate. Many of the posters in this series relate to causes including reproductive rights, gay rights, antiwar activism, and opposition to U.S. intervention in Central America.

Inventory

Series 1. Communism and Post-Communism
1959-1993
Benes, Pavel: Gloria in excelsis / Obcanske Forum. Czech Republic (?)
1989
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Bronenocets Potemkin [Battleship Potemkin].
1968
Folder 3

Reprint of Russian poster for the Eisenstein film

Doveryayete li vy s"yezdu prinyatiye novoy konstitutsii rossii [Do you trust congress to adopt a new constitution for Russia]. Moscow
1993
1 item : 40 x 28.5 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Engels, Friedrich (portrait). Hangzhou: The East is Red Silk Weaving Factory
ca.1969
4 poster : 79 x 50 cm.
Folder 5

Cotton brocade portrait of Engels, part of series of Communist heros

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Eystrasaltvikan-Rostock 1959. Kothen : Aufbau-Druckrei
1959
1 item : 42 28.5 cm.
Folder 1

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Gonzales, Manolo T.: Campana nacional por la lectura: nosotros no le decimos al pueblo: cree; le decimos, lee -- Fidel. Havana
1984
Folder 4
Iskorenim! [Eradicated!]. Moscow : Izdatl'sto
1987
Folder
Klidne vanoce s obcanskym forem. S.l. : s.n.
undated
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Klyuchevaya zadacha -- uskoreniye nauchno-tekhnicheskogo progressa [The key btask is the acceleration of scientific and technical research]. Moscow
1988
Folder 3
Lenin, Vladimir Ilych (portrait). Hangzhou: The East is Red Silk Weaving Factory
ca.1969
2 poster : 79 x 50 cm.
Folder 5

Cotton brocade portrait of Lenin part of series of Communist heros

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Mao Zedong (portrait). Hangzhou: The East is Red Silk Weaving Factory
ca.1969
1 poster : 40 x 27 cm.
Folder 5

Cotton brocade portrait of Mao

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Mao Zedong (portrait). Hangzhou: The East is Red Silk Weaving Factory
ca.1969
1 poster : 79 x 50 cm.
Folder 5

Cotton brocade portrait of Mao, part of series of Communist heros

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Marx, Karl (portrait). Hangzhou: The East is Red Silk Weaving Factory
ca.1969
3 poster : 79 x 50 cm.
Folder 5

Cotton brocade portrait of Marx, part of series of Communist heros

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Moskvichn tashchatsya ot tvorchestva zuraba tsereteli. Moscow
1997
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Myslit' i rabotat' po-novomu! [Think and work in a new way!]. Moscow
1988
Folder

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Nemrudovym dokhodam -- zaslon [Non-work incomes -- a barrier]. Moscow
1987
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Ostorozhno takikh ne vy"irat' [Be careful not to wipe them out]. Moscow
1988
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Otdel izobrazitel'nykh iskusstv narkomprosa [Dept. of Fine Arts, Peoples Institute Commissariat for Education]: Vystavka model' proekta pamyatnik. . . mitin [Exhibition of the monument projects models. . . rally]. Moscow
undated
1 item : 40 x 28.5 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Pochemu rastut tseny [Why prices are rising]. Moscow
1993
1 item : 40 x 28.5 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Podpisnoy list / vybor rossii / prisoyedinyaysya [subscription list]. Moscow
undated
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Rodchenko, Alexander Mikhailovich: Knigi.
1968
1 poster : 48.5 x 68.5 xm.
Folder 3

Reprint of Soviet Revolutionary poster

Skromnoye obayaniye burzhuazii [Discreet charm of the bourgeoisie]. Moscow?
1972
Folder 3

Poster in Russian for Louis Bunuel film

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Smeleye, tovarishch! glasnost' -- nasha sila! [ Bold Friend! Glasnost is our strength]. Moscow
1988
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Spisat' povsemestno / yestroyki!. Moscow?
1987
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Stalin, Joseph (portrait). Hangzhou: The East is Red Silk Weaving Factory
ca.1969
5 poster : 79 x 50 cm.
Folder 5

Cotton brocade portrait of Stalin, part of series of Communist heros

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Vrag per. Moscow?
ca.1977
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Ya volkom by vygryz byurokratizm. Moscow
1988
Folder 3

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Zamorozim tseny [freeze prices]. Moscow
1993
1 item : 40 x 28.5 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Series 2. Cultural, Artistic, and Literary
1798-2012

Poetical broadside on death, containing 7 quatrains, with cut of urn at top and serpentine border along the sides decorated with row of skulls and crossbones at bottom and hourglasses at top; top of border broken by phrase 'My glass is run.' Not in Imprints, Wegelin, WorldCat.

Celebrando nuestras tradiciones hispanas, Festival de la Familia Hispana. Holyoke, Mass. : Familia Hispana
2012
Folder 2
Free Spirits: The birth, life, and less of a New-Age dream. Northampton, Mass. : s.n.
2006
Folder 2

Poster for opening of film by Bruce Geisler on the Brotherhood of the Spirit commune, Academy of Music Theatre, Northampton

Broadside advertisement for Waterbury-based daguerreotypist printed with blanks, apparently for use as he worked as an itinerant in other towns.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perha[ps it is because he hears a different drummer. . . Sister Mary Corita. . . Morris Gallery. New York : s.n.
1967
1 poster : 51 x 35 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of Joe and Mary Lou Kearns

Kolb Brothers: America's best entertainment with Kolb Brothers. Grand Canyon, Ariz. : s.n.
ca.1923
1 item : 28 x 21.5 cm.
Folder 1

Advertisement for Grand Canyon photographers

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Premier of Yuri Sherling's, A black bridle for a white mare: an opera mystery [title in Yiddish]. Birobidzhan, Russia Jewish Chamber Theater
undated
Folder 2

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Releasing a dove. S.l. : s.n.
undated
1 poster : 57.5 x 43 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of Joe and Mary Lou Kearns

U2, the Unforgettable Fire tour. Hamburg, Germany : s.n.
1984
Folder 3
United States National Student Association: Fourth National Student Film Festival. New York : s.n.
ca.1968
1 item : 28 x 21.5 cm.
Folder 1

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, Portland, Oregon.
1972
1 poster
Folder 2

Broadside poem in to columns and 24 quatrains, with typographical line between, on death of six women and a boy by drowning. Evans no. 4874; Wegelin 820.

Series 3. Long-1960s
1965-1975
Build solidarity of the Americans: Chile, Attica, Puerto Rico. Boston : s.n.
1975
1 poster ; 43.5 x 27.5 cm.
Folder 3
Committee to Defend the Panther 21: The Street Wall Journal: Why we strike, vol. 1, 1. New York : s.n.
1970
1 poster : 22 x 17 in.
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Committee to Defend the Panther 21: The Street Wall Journal: Why we strike, vol. 1, 1 (variant on orange stock, without overlain image). New York : s.n.
1970
1 poster : 22 x 17 in.
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Committee to Defend the Panther 21: The Street Wall Journal: Why we strike, vol. 1, 2. New York : s.n.
1970
1 poster : 22 x 17 in.
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Committee to Defend the Panther 21: The Street Wall Journal: Why we strike, vol. 1, 3. New York : s.n.
1970
1 poster : 22 x 17 in.
Folder 4

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Indochina Peace Campaign: The US is still in Vietnam. . . Urge Congress to cut aid to Thieu.
ca.1975
Folder 2
Martin Sostre Defence Committee: Wanted by the people -- conspiracy, murder, extortion -- Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller. Buffalo, N.Y. : s.n.
1974
Folder 2
National Campaign: Stop Rockefeller, the rich get richer, and the poor get hell.
ca.1971
Folder 3

Post-Attica activism

National Campaign to Impeach Nixon: March to impeach Nixon: Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles. .
1974
Folder 2
North/South Vietnam Fund for Peace and Reconstruction in Indochina: Not all the prisoners are home: Pres. Thieu holds 200,000 civilians in prison. . . Free all the prisoners, stop aid to Thieu. Philadelphia : AFSC
ca.1975
Folder 3
Petition: We, the people of Arizona, have complete and trustful confidence in J. Edgar Hoover as director of the FBI. We hereby affix our signatues to this petition to certify this confidence. Phoenix, Arix. : Evening American
ca.1968
1 item : 38 x 28 cm.
Folder 1

Unused

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Prairie Fire Organizing Committee: Black people have not. . . March against racism December 14. Boston : s.n.
ca.1977
Folder 3

Poster from the School Busing Crisis in Boston

Resist : war war war war war. New York : 100 Flowers Gallery
1968
Folder 4

Gift of Joe and Mary Lou Kearns

Solidarity with Indochina. Boston : s.n.
ca.1975
2 posters
Folder 2

March in Boston and Teach-in at MIT for the 85th birthdYA OF Ho Chi Minh

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: Come let us build a new world together. Atlanta, Ga. : SNCC
ca.1965
1 poster: 36 x 46 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of Joe and Mary Lou Kearns

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: For food. . . for freedom. Atlanta, Ga. : SNCC
ca.1965
1 poster: 35.5 x 56 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of Joe and Mary Lou Kearns

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: Now. Atlanta, Ga. : SNCC
ca.1965
1 poster: 56 x 35.5 cm.
Folder 4

Gift of Joe and Mary Lou Kearns

Students for a Democratic Society: We are we burning, torturing, killing the people of Vietnam. . . To prevent free elections.
ca.1968
Folder tube
War Resisters League: WRI Thirteenth Triennial Meeitng, Gandhi Centenary / War Resisters International. New York : War Resisters League
1979
Folder 4

Features Ben Shahn drawing of Gandhi and Mark Morris design

Gift of Joe and Mary Lou Kearns

What we want, what we believe: October 1966 Black Panther Party Platform and Program -- Join the Nation Strike, New University Conference. S.l. : s.n.
ca.1966
1 poster : 43.5 x 28 cm.
Folder 4

Image of Huey Newton with gun and inset of AK47

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Series 4. Political
1898-1996
ACT UP San Francisco: Inflamed by flare-ups against queers and PWAs / Maybe it's your governor. San Francisco : s.n.
ca.1994
1 poster ; 43.5 x 27.5 cm.
Folder 3

Opposing Governor Peter Wilson and Prop. 187

Agencia Nueva Nicaragua: Nicaragua.
ca.1980
Folder 2
Bicentenario sin colonias, a luchar por nuestros derechos a filadelphia.
Folder 2

Puerto Rican independence

Boston Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador: National week of solidarity with the people of El Salvador.
1981
1 poster ; 43.5 x 27.5 cm.
Folder 3
Coalition to Stop US Intervention in the Middle East: No blood for oil: stop the War in the Gulf. Boston : s.n.
1991
2 posters
Folder 2
Committee to Defend Abortion Rights: Defend Dr. Edelin! Defend abortion rights!... Faneuil Hall, Thurs. Mar. 20. Boston : s.n.
ca.1975
1 poster ; 43.5 x 27.5 cm.
Folder 3
Free Ella Ellison! Unjustly imprisoned for five lifetimes. . . why?. Cambridge, Mass. : Ella Ellison Support Committee
ca.1976
1 poster : 42.5 x 27 cm.
Folder 1

Poster protesting sentence of Ella Ellison, framed for two murders. A retrial was ordered for Ellison in 1978 and she was not retried.

Hear Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois, America's foremost Negro Leader and Author. . . Friday, March 5, 8 pm. Oakland, Calif. : California Labor School
ca.1954
1 poster : 28 x 21.5cm.
Folder 1
IV Congreso Federal Ordinario de Feasies: en el camino hacia la paz, la justicia social, y la democracia / companero Jose Tomas Mazariego tu ejemplo de lucha presente!.
1990
Folder 3
Keller, Charles: Martyrdom of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Clifton, N.J. : Henwallt Co.
1988
1 poster : 66 x 48.5 cm.
Folder 2

Inscribed by artist Charles Keller to Jim Fraser 2-9-95

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League: We will decide, November 3rd.
undated
Folder 2
Out at work: can your employer fire you because o who you sleep with? The first film about Lesbians and gay men on the job. New York : s.n.
ca.1996
Folder 2
Paul Robeson memorial concert at Peace Arch Park at the Washington State-British Columbia border, S.l. : SEIU Greenhouse Cultural Program.
2002
Folder 3
State wide conference and dinner of Progressives of Mass. to be held at So. Armory, Irvington St., Boston, Mass..
1913 Feb. 22
17 x 14"
Folder 3
Sample ballot: Democratic ticket, Republican ticket, Prohibition ticket. Indiana : s.n.
ca.1898
1 ballot : 30 x 19.5 cm.
Folder 1

Printed ballot for 12th District, Indiana, for election of 1898; James M. Robinson represented the 12th district in Indiana 1897-1905; this appears to be the election of 1898.

Gift of James and Sibylle Fraser

Sparhawk, Barbara: Not my flag! (The legend of Tommy O'Toole). Altavista, Va. : Altavista Printing Co.
1993
Folder 4

Administrative information

Access

The collection is open for research.

Provenance

Acquired from various sources.

Processing Information

Processed by I. Eliot Wentworth, June 2018.

Digitized content

Some of the items in this collection have been digitized and may be viewed online through SCUA's digital repository, Credo.

Language:

English

Copyright and Use (More information )

Cite as: Broadside and Poster Collection (RB 034). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Search terms

Subjects

  • Antiwar movements--Posters
  • Communism--Posters
  • Germany (East)--History
  • Soviet Union--History--1985-1991
  • Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee
  • Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements--Posters

Contributors

    Genres and formats

    • Broadsheets (Format)
    • Broadsides (Notices)
    • Fliers (Printed matter)
    • Posters

    Link to similar SCUA collections