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Death Lurks Behind the Practical Joker (Mather and Company, 1923). Motivational Poster (28" X 41.5").. ...
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Death Lurks Behind the Practical Joker (Mather and Company, 1923). Motivational Poster (28" X 41.5").Heritage is thrilled to offer several of the best "Mather Motivational" stone lithography posters printed in Chicago between 1923 and 1929. During "The Roaring 1920s," the American spirit was fueled by idealism and economic expansion. Jobs were plentiful, and a movement known as Welfare Capitalism emerged, in which employers countered the grievances of labor unions and socialists by voluntarily offering higher wages, health insurance, reduced hours, and paid vacations in exchange for higher productivity and improved employee loyalty. Charles Mather, a Chicago printer, recognized the movement as a chance to expand his business by selling factory owners subscriptions to his poster series. He had seen the success of the government's propaganda poster campaign during WWI and applied the same advertising techniques, working instead with corporations striving to develop their employees. Mather sought out artists such as Willard Frederick Elmes, Hal Depuy, and Frank Beatty to create posters with bold graphics and simple, direct messages. Included in these were posters with such titles as "The Game is Won in the Ninth Inning," "Excuses Get You Nothing," and "Good Work Well Done." Employers could take their pick from a catalog of posters covering such workplace topics as practical jokes, fire prevention, laziness, accountability, and rumor spreading. With their poignant messages and eye-catching graphics, the posters were not easily ignored. Mather provided over 300 unique posters over the course of seven years, until the stock market crash of October 1928. Employers no longer had extra funds to spend on motivational material. So monumental is this series, the International Poster Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts launched a comprehensive exhibition of the works in 2008. Native Chicago artist Robert Beebe can be credited with lending his immense talent to the superb selection of Mather posters offered in this Heritage auction. His signature can be found at the bottom right or left of each piece. Fans of American nostalgia and exceptional poster design won't want to miss these unique pieces.
The poster shows punch holes in the top and bottom, some staining in and to the right of Death, smudging in the left border, and a small number written in the lower left corner. Rolled, Fine/Very Fine.
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