Vintage Swiss Tourism Poster Type
Swiss tourism posters are well-known for their idealized images of snow, sun, and skiing—but they are less-known for their surprising variety of lettering and typography.
For our readers in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is upon us and perhaps a skiing holiday is in your future; for our readers in the Southern Hemisphere, recent heat waves may have you wishing for one. Either way, looking at vintage tourism posters is a good way to find typographic inspiration.
Galerie 1 2 3, based in Geneva, Switzerland is a shop specializing in original, vintage posters with a focus on tourism posters of Europe. Their poster collection showcases many twentieth century activities such as industry, consumer goods, transportation, arts and entertainment, as well as sport and leisure activities.
Looking through their selection of Swiss Ski Posters (ignoring completely their amazing Cappiello, Nitsche, or Cassandre posters) you can see the fascinating history of typographic choices and styles as the years progress. The earlier posters have mostly custom, hand lettering over elaborate illustrations whereas in later years, you start to see the use of foundry typefaces with photography.
Whether or not there is a ski trip in your future, browsing these posters is a great way to see vibrant letterforms and the progression of the Swiss/International style of the 20th century in beautiful, vintage color.
