Vintage Irish Posters: What They Are, Where the Style Came From, and Which to Hang
"Vintage Irish poster" covers two quite different things: a poster printed in Ireland in the early twentieth century, and a modern poster made in the flat-colour style of that era. Both are worth hanging, and they suit different walls. This guide explains the difference, where the look came from, and which Irish posters to start with.
Two kinds of vintage Irish poster
A period poster is a printed survivor: lithographed, often fragile, and one of a handful that has outlasted its campaign. The Seachtain na Gaeilge poster of 1913 is one of these, an Irish Language Week poster that asks the viewer, bluntly, which side they are on.
A vintage-style poster is new work in an old idiom. Most Irish travel posters you can buy today are this kind, and that is how they are sold here: modern designs, printed to order on 250gsm archival matte paper, drawing on the posters that railway and shipping companies once used to sell the coast. If you want period engravings and surveys rather than the poster form, those are in the vintage Irish prints collection.
Where the look came from
Between the wars, railway companies on both sides of the border commissioned artists to sell the west and the north to day-trippers. The method was economy: a lighthouse, a sea cliff or a lake reduced to a few flat shapes, a limited palette, and a place name in bold lettering. It was designed to be read from a station platform. That is why the style still works on a domestic wall, where it reads as a single clear image from across the room.
Irish travel posters to start with
The Cliffs of Moher. The Ireland retro travel poster shows green sea cliffs above a turquoise cove under a peach sky. It is the most direct answer to "a poster of Ireland", and it holds up at A2.
Welcome to Ireland. The Welcome to Ireland poster is the nearest thing here to a classic tourist-board design, with the greeting set large. It works well in a hall, or as a gift for someone leaving or arriving.
Lighthouses and coast. The Fastnet Lighthouse poster shows the Cork lighthouse of 1904, which was the last piece of Ireland that emigrant ships passed. The Fanad Head poster is a white lighthouse above a blue Donegal sea, and the Giant's Causeway poster renders the basalt columns in rust and brown. For more on the subject, read Irish lighthouses in art.
Towns and counties. The Cobh poster puts the cathedral spire above a row of coloured houses, and the Donegal poster is a minimalist landscape of cottages, lake and mountains. The Burren poster shows Poulnabrone Dolmen in maroon, blue and yellow, and the Killarney poster gives Kerry's lakes the same treatment. Further reading: Cork in Irish art and Donegal in Irish art.
Hanging them
Posters in this style depend on a clean edge, so a plain frame suits them. Black or white keeps the colour central, and oak suits the warmer palettes such as the Giant's Causeway and the Burren. They come in A4, A3 and A2, framed or unframed. A2 carries a hallway or a space above a sofa, while A4 and A3 suit a landing or a shelf. Three posters of equal size in matching frames look settled together, and the wall sets page shows ready-made groupings. For framing advice, see how to frame Irish art prints, and for what they are printed on, the paper we print on.
Common questions
Are these original vintage posters? No. Apart from the 1913 Seachtain na Gaeilge poster, they are new designs in a vintage style, made to order.
What size should I choose? A2 for a statement wall, A3 for most rooms, A4 for small spaces and sets.
Do they ship outside Ireland? Yes. Shipping is free worldwide.
The full range is in the Irish posters collection.