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

The first advertisement pillar was erected by Ernst Litfass, a printer from Bratislava, in the market square of a small town outside Berlin. He advertised his own business with such success that his example was followed throughout Europe and in Budapest in 1888. The locating of advertising pillars and billboards was the monopoly of Károly Emmerling until 1911 and the formation if the Budapest Municipal Advertising Company. It was around this time that advertisements found their way onto the roofs of trams, the backs of benches and the protective covering of trees. Hungarian poster art flourished in the first decades of the 20th century. Preserving the predominance of painting, its repertoire was enriched with the application of large patches of colour, simplified contours and unique graphic ideas that saw it develop into an applied branch of the arts. Posters for art exhibitions showed the way to commercial posters. Industry, commerce and art now found themselves side by side. Colourful posters shone through the comings and goings on the streets of an increasingly cosmopolitan Budapest, stopping passers-by in their tracks. They surprised and startled them. They aroused their readiness to buy and supported new needs. They invited people into cinemas and nightclubs. They influenced them with pleasantly entertaining solutions. Their central figure was often a woman who advertised both feminine beauty and technological marvels. Pictorially rich works were created although they were still summary in their composition. The best works of the period are linked to the names of Géza Faragó, Mihály Bíró, Imre Földes and Márton Tuszkay. They were groundbreakers in the artistic shaping of the environment spirit of art nouveau. They gave durable, pictorial expression to companies and brands. Géza Faragó's humorous and eye-catching posters were much liked. The works of Imre Földes radiate the joy of life. The mode of expression in Mihály Bíró's art is one of sharp contrast and passion/characterised by the perfect harmony of picture and text. Márton Tuszkay swathed the commercial content of his posters in artistic robes that were charming and sometimes grotesque.