Snapshots of the Past

Funny side up – Vintage Poster Wall Art

Funny side up, 1936 — vintage poster
Funny side up, 1936. Vintage poster from the WPA Posters collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with Funny side up, a vintage poster rich in period detail. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

Choose the framed print, ready to hang the day it arrives, or the unframed print for a frame of your own. It brings character to any room and makes a memorable gift. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Funny side up

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Funny Side Up" is a 1936 silkscreen poster whose subject headings tie it to reading in Illinois during the 1930s. The Federal Art Project, a division of the Works Progress Administration, produced posters like this one during the Depression, using bold flat color and simple shapes that could be read quickly from a distance. A September 7, 1939 date stamp on the back suggests the poster stayed in circulation for years after it was printed. Its grouping with other images of children and smiling faces shows how the program often presented everyday pleasures as public messages.

Created / published1936
Medium1 print on board (poster) : silkscreen color.
NotesDate stamped on verso: Sep 7 1939. Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress). Posters of the WPA / Christopher DeNoon. Los Angeles : Wheatly Press c1987 no. 199 · Federal Art Project sponsor.
SubjectsReading--Illinois--1930-1940. Smiling--1930-1940.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Work Projects Administration Poster Collection
Original scan1,028 × 1,536 px · prints to 3 × 5 in at 300 dpi
Reference692_Funny_side_up_1936

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