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Library of Congress: WPA Posters

Fans of vintage advertisements should check out this striking collection of historical posters digitized by the Library of Congress. This collection features over 900 posters created for the Work Projects Administration (WPA; originally called the Works Progress Administration) between 1936 and 1943, a Depression-era federal jobs program initiated to relieve unemployment and improve infrastructure. Originally created "to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia," these posters and their now-iconic design styles are valued for both their aesthetics and their history. Readers may like to begin by reading the About section to learn about the collection's contextual background before diving into the Collection Items. Once there, readers can choose to view the posters as a list, gallery, grid, or slideshow, and they can also filter the posters by fields, such as location and subject. In the Articles and Essays section, readers can browse Collection Highlights curated to "demonstrate the breadth and depth of the collection and the styles and content used by the WPA." This section also features a Federal Art Project Calendar created in 1938 as well as a 1994 interview with Tony Velonis, a master silkscreen printer who introduced the process into the WPA poster division.
Archived Scout Publication URL
Scout Publication
GEM Subject
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Date of Scout Publication
October 4th, 2019
Date Of Record Creation
September 26th, 2019 at 12:53pm
Date Of Record Release
September 30th, 2019 at 11:31am
Resource URL Clicks
342
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