Maudit Vent GBT 1914;Pierre Brissaud;9 1/2″ x 7 1/2″;A,P
The spring season means various things to many people. My most vivid childhood memory of spring in Arctic Winnipeg was racing wooden matches along the still-frozen gutters awash with mountains of melting snow. These days, however, I favor a more moderate, colorful and variegated interaction with the visitation. Still waiting for that magic in this year’s maudit (censored) spring, here we let ourselves go by virtue of snappy and arresting lithographic homages to what can be the greatest time of the year.
We start with a pochoir, now more than a hundred years old, coming to light when April in Paris was beauty itself; but it could be nippy, and windy hell for those wearing specially chosen hats.
Tenta 1949;Donald Brun;50 1/4″ x 35 1/2″;A-,P
Trust the hardy Swiss and that design pepper pot, Donald Brun, to regard the season as joyous…and a financial opportunity.
Vacances en Suisse 1945;Donald Brun;40”x 25”;B+, L
The spring of 1945 was a particularly promising season for many around the world. Even in neutral Switzerland, as this exuberant design demonstrates, everything was abuzz with the anticipated return to simple pleasures in welcome sunlight and warmth. (You have to ask yourself, though, what kind of market was in view for a jaunt to Switzerland at that time! Or, were the canny burghers looking a bit down the road?)
Vacances en Suisse 1949;Donald Brun;40″ x 25″;A-,L
It’s 1949, and Donald Brun can do no wrong! Spring really does have a way of lifting you!
Dusseldorf c. 1955;Harold Gertschow;40” x 25”;A-, P
Chestnut blossoms on a grand promenade. In spring the sidewalk cafes seem especially enticing!
Manitoba Calling May,1945;Anonymous;9 1/2″ x 6 1/4″
A,P ;radio guide/photos;16pp.
Here we have a land that really looks forward to spring! Gardening is one of the now-iconic presences of the season.
Spring Fashions are Here 1929 T. Eaton Co. Canada
Jean Dupas;7″ x 5 1/2″;A-, P, 4 page card
The deco superstar, Jean Dupas, brings his graphic smarts to Toronto’s Eaton’s Department Store, to help launch a spring fashions campaign!
Canadian Pacific Holiday Tours to Canada & USA 1928;Anonymous;6”x18”; B+, L
A spring invasion of Manhattan! What could be, in the parlance of 1928, more jolly!
Primavera / Estate 1981;Giorgio Armani;12 1/2″ x 9″;A,P
Giorgio Armani presents spring dash in a nocturnal vein in this composition from 1981.
Primavera / Estate 1983;Giorgio Armani;12 1/2″ x 9″;A,P
This design strikes me as especially interesting in taking into account the cloudy and rainy weather often prevalent in spring.
Shadowland March 1921;A.M. Hopfmuller12”x 8 ¾”;A-, P
A.M. Hopfmuller’s take on spring for that great design publication, Shadowland, shadowing the status quo with some elemental fertility.
Shadowland May 1920s;A.M. Hopfmuller;12”x 8 ¾”;A-, P
Sky and earth showing affinities at this time of the year!
Shadowland 1920s;A.M. Hopfmuller;10 1/8”x 8 ½”;A-, P; (Sower)
Hopfmuller again, in a classic homage to the pulse of life!
Au Printemps 1928;Lucien Boucher;12 1/4″x 9 5/8″;A,P
Letting spring make a bang—that always surprising Surrealist designer, Lucien Boucher, sending us a Paris spring image of trusty delight, to mark a time and place blessed by blossoming.
