S. Nagy Anikó, Rédey Judit: Az utca képeskönyve. Kereskedelmi plakátok és korabeli kritikájuk (1885–1945) (Bpudapest, 2006)

THE PICTURE BOOK OF THE STREET The European birth of the poster is thanks to the French artist, Jules Cheret. He produced the first colour, lithographed poster in 1869. His followers came from the circles of impressionist painters who exploited the great opportunities provided by the new printing technique: larger number of copies, easier production. Alongside the expansion of new technology, the start of mass production, urban development and the accompanying growth of the middleclass also justified the existence of the poster in Hungary in the last decades of the 19th century. It became a measure of our industrial, commercial, political and artistic life and for a long time was a vital tool for mass information and similarly shaping public tastes. Early posters were conceived in the style of naturalist academism and historicism interwoven with allegorical elements. They informed people of the formation of companies and popularised fairs. The advertisement for the Budapest General Exhibition in 1885 is considered by experts to be the first "real" poster. It was created by the painter, Gyula Benczúr, who was the head professorat the academy. Competitions provided the greatest incentive for Hungarian posterait. The first was initiated in 1885 by Béla Lukács, the minister for trade, to announce the millennium celebrations. The National Hungarian Applied Arts Society awarded first prize to a joint submission by the painters, Károly Gerster and Géza Mirkovszky. More closely resembling a memorial plaque, the poster received stern criticism from the art historian, Károly Lyka, in Pesti Napló: "This work from the peak of his carrier (...) was more like the front page of a department store catalogue than a poster. Everything was brought together here that did not belong: industry and trade, agriculture and gardening, animal husbandry and traffic signs alongside the royal crown on an ornate cushion and the coat of arms and all of this surrounding the figure of Hungária sitting on a podium. A piece of the Hungarian Plain is also visible the sky above which had space for a mythical eagle. This burgeoning spectacle is beautiful, "formed" with calligraphic detailing and painted true to life."