Snowy Scene, A Vintage Advertising Poster
This World War I era poster from the Red Cross reminds everyone that “All they need is heart and a dollar.” (Click on the poster if you would like the full-sized version of this image.)
Back in 1918 when this poster was published by the Niagara Lithograph Company, a dollar sure went a lot further than it does now. In 1917, for one dollar you could buy a loaf of bread, a quart of milk, a dozen eggs and a pound of American cheese and still have almost 25 cents left over – it would have had approximately the same amount of buying power that $17 has today.
The artist was Ray Greenleaf. He lived in New York and another art website said he was known for his illustrations and propaganda poster art designs. I could only find this and one other example of his work, so I’m not really sure how well known he was. I found nothing about Greenleaf other than references to memberships in art societies in the New York City area, that he was judge for a poster contest and that he died in 1950.
This wintry poster was part of a Christmas fundraising campaign. But, I thought it was perfect for today when so much of the country is under a blanket of snow. Yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported there is snow on the groud of 49 American states. Even Hawaii has snow right now on high peaks of the mountain volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. Surprisingly, it’s Florida which currently has none of the frozen white stuff within its borders.
This snowy scene has a mountain cabin surrounded by peaks and valleys covered with snow. But, the unseen residents must be toasty warm with a roaring fire in the fireplace as evidenced by the smoke wafting from the top of the chimney. A tall, snow-covered pine tree stands sentry-like next to the cabin. Greenleaf only used a few colors for this poster – a blue sky, green trees, the beige snow and the red of the red cross. It was dramatic and you quickly saw who the poster was for.
No matter where you live, I would hope you think this vintage snowy scene might be of use to you. Since I suspect that most folks don’t need a vintage Red Cross poster, I took the liberty of removing the original text and turning this into a simple winter scene and landscape drawing. BTW, I tried making the snow a crisp white and it simply over-powered the entire image – it looked almost radioactive. lol. So, I just made it the same dullish beige color as the original poster. Just click on the image to see the full-sized version.
