Poster advertising the services provided by the Post Office (CTT)

The advent of the modern poster can be dated to the 19th century following the invention of the lithograph (1798), which allowed thousands of copies to be printed in just a few hours and for a lower cost. This technique was later enhanced by chromolithography (1827). Designed to be affixed to a wall, it catches the passerby’s attention by means of its bright colours for a short period of time, “two seconds” according to Attilo Rossi, just enough to ensure the message gets through. This poster belongs to the Iconographic Archive collection, most of which came from the Post Office (CTT), and recalls an age, resulting from the ideological discourse of the ancien régime, for which this medium (and others, see for example the Official Guide, telephone directories, illustrated postcard and postage stamp, amongst others) was seen as an ideal vehicle for its ideologies. To that end, in 1937 the CTT’s Advertising and Marketing Department (SEP) was created, whose purpose was to market the company’s postal, telegraph and telephone services and operate a commercial marketing department for use by the public. Adapting new verbal and graphic techniques, advertising has evolved up to the present day to cover a wide range of subjects, remaining at the forefront of commercial activity. It is not just limited to enticing the public into buying a particular product as opposed to another, but to awakening needs that are essential, others that are merely useful and others again that are even unknown.