A recent exhibition in the capital presents original hand-drawn Indian commercial posters from the 1920s to the 1960s. Curated by the Archives of Tarun Thakral, it offers a unique opportunity to witness a rare collection of 29 original images from yesteryears.
In 2007, while Thakral was planning to build the Heritage Transport Museum in Gurugram, he collected a few transport related posters, alongside advertising enamel boards, all pertaining to the history of transportation in India. Further, during the pandemic, non-transport related advertising posters, calendars, prints and oleographs caught his attention, prompting him to start this collection which has grown mostly in the last four years.
“Each piece transcends its commercial purpose, offering a sneak peek into social evolution, consumer trends and artistic expressions. It is a time capsule that gives you a glimpse of the dawn of independence through advertisements promoting indigenous products, reflecting a nation’s escalating self-belief. The exhibition opens a window into the bustling marketplaces and changing styles of hand-drawn illustrations, capturing the essence of art deco and glamour,” said Thakral.
While more than half of the collection has been procured in India – primarily from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra – some posters have also been acquired from the US, the UK, France and Germany through poster dealers as well as by participating in various international auctions.
“Posters were an important medium widely used from the 19th century till the 20th century. It was a pivotal tool that was used to communicate, influence and shape the history of mankind that we know today. In India, in the olden days, shop fronts, railway stations and even lamp posts were used and it was the only medium of communication available before newspapers, radio and television. In the height of its popularity that spanned from the 1890s to 1970s, hundreds of thousands of striking pieces of poster artworks were designed and printed,” explained Thakral.
Photo: Author provided
Further, vintage posters were an important informational tool, as they could be mass produced in huge quantities, in identical copies and at a relatively low cost. The discovery and innovation of printing techniques were able to evolve printed materials to become more complex and colourful. “The attractiveness and the commercial nature of the poster as a medium were enough to gain attention from reputed artists. These original artworks carry an astronomical sum to acquire today. Hence, the development of posters as an art form has always been closely linked to the advancement of printmaking,” he elaborated.
Photo: Author provided
Posters were made using any printing method, such as serigraph, stone lithograph, offset lithograph, woodblock or silk screen on any number of types of paper. “An important aspect of posters is that no matter its artistic merit or printing technique, they are intended for use at the time of printing itself,”,” added Thakral.
The posters in his collection are primarily stone lithography and offset lithography. Raja Ravi Varma imported the German lithography presses in India in the late 1890s to start producing coloured lithographs of his original paintings for mass distribution. This was followed by other lithographic presses in India.
Some of the posters were made by prominent Indian painters of the time, including Varma, M.V. Dhurandhar, S.L. Haldankar and Raghuvir Mulgaonkar. Others are by artists from the UK, such as Victor Veevers, Kay Nixon, Dorothy Newsome and W.S. Bylitiplis, who were stationed in India during those days and had their paintings specifically designed for posters.
Most collectors go on an initial spree of collecting whatever they find interesting. As time goes by, they start researching on the techniques, companies, artists, styles, printers and their values. When the collection becomes large, one often tends to forget what one has acquired.
As a result, Thakral also has an enormous collection of 5,000, one-of-a-kind, original popular visual arts in the form of old calendars, posters, oleographs and prints. “In order not to waste money on duplicates it is necessary to catalogue them, so that one has a ready reckoner of what one has,” said Thakral. The collection is currently in the process of being catalogued and maintained under the Tarun Thakral Archival collection.
Photo: Author provided
In 1994, Thakral had begun collecting vintage and classic automobiles and related transport objects. Over time, the collection grew to an extent that he was finding it difficult to maintain it. Two years later, he founded the Heritage Transportation Trust to promote the preservation of modes of transportation that have been used in India. In 2009, he approached the Union Ministry of Culture to open India’s first comprehensive Heritage Transport Museum and received a grant of Rs 6 crores to set it up.
Located near Gurugram, it opened its doors to visitors in December 2013 at a cost of Rs 13 crores with funding from the Government of India, private and corporate donations as well as personal funding. After more than a decade, the museum has welcomed over 2 million visitors, received several national and international awards, and been rated as one of the best museums in the country.
Photo: Author provided
In the future, Thakral plans to create an online museum of visual arts, so that scholars can use it for research, education and pure fascination. He also plans to make sets of his collection, so that they can travel as temporary displays to various art museums in India and overseas. “Who knows, it may trigger a desire for others to start a collection of their own,” he concludes.
‘Journey Through Time: +1 Day, +1 Story’ will continue at the Atrium Lobby (Longitude), Le Meridien, New Delhi till March 15th, 2024.
Neha Kirpal is a free-lance journalist.