Vintage Sports Posters Part 1

This post will be the first of several regarding vintage sports poster catalogs.

For me these are the perfect blend of graphic design and sports.

This one is from ALL SPORTS POSTER SERVICE (ASP) out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Based on prices listed in the back of the catalog and along with the other similar poster catalogs I have, I would date the catalog as being from the late 1920's or early 1930's. The 23 page book was geared toward prominent schools, colleges and organizations independent of schools all over the United States. The sports covered are football, basketball, baseball, track and soccer. These pieces could be customized by using school colors and school letters or monograms. Once the schools picked the format they liked, they would supply the company with event information or game schedule to be put into the blank area.

Carte de Visite from Paris

I picked up a bunch of carte de visite (CDV) at a flea market (Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves) in Paris last month. Just about all the ones I have in my collection were picked up at show or flea markets in the states over the years. I was starting to get a little bored with looking at the same photography studio graphics on the back so I was quite happy when I came across nothing but European cards. One dealer had cases upon cases. So many that I gave up after the second case. These designs are some much more elaborate than the U.S, versions.  The front photos are just as creepy. One thing I didn't know about CDVs is that they were patented in Paris by photographer Andre Adolphe Disderi in 1854. If you're planning on picking up a few, you should pay $1 - $3 dollars for basic cards. Cards depicting famous people or sports go for more.

Welcome

Welcome to The Design Morgue. If you're familiar with newspaper terms, you probably already know that the morgue is a reference file containing clippings and photos. My goal here is to use The Design Morgue as an inspiration tool.
I am a designer and a collector/archivist. As a kid I collected baseball cards (still have 'em) and comic books (sold most of them to buy cards). As an adult, I still collect baseball cards, comic books and pretty much anything else that looks cool and inspires me. The main areas of my collecting center around sports, graphic design and fashion. On The Design Morgue I'll share parts of my collection as well as other things I find while digging around flea markets, conventions/shows and around the web.
Thanks for checking out the site. Please bookmark it because I will try to update it as frequently as possible.