Johnny Frenchman
Print
ca. 1945 (made)
ca. 1945 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Barnett Freedman (1901-1958) was a leading poster designer and typographer. It was printed using offset lithography, where a second cylinder picks up an image from a printing plate before transferring it onto paper. We know this because the portraits on a zinc plate in the collection (see E.342-1964 EDUC 9E) are the same orientation as here, rather than in reverse. Zinc plates were used in offset lithography, because they could be curved around the printing cylinders. Other plates (not in the collection) reproduced the bands of colour and the text.
The grainy appearance of the image is typical of the effects achieved with lithographic chalks. Some of the lettering has been drawn, some seems to have been transferred (e.g. lower right corner) and some stencilled (top right). For the text bands, scroll and portrait strip to remain white, the corresponding parts of the first, colour, plates would be masked off using a grease-resistant substance like gum Arabic before printing so that they didn’t take any of the ink.
The grainy appearance of the image is typical of the effects achieved with lithographic chalks. Some of the lettering has been drawn, some seems to have been transferred (e.g. lower right corner) and some stencilled (top right). For the text bands, scroll and portrait strip to remain white, the corresponding parts of the first, colour, plates would be masked off using a grease-resistant substance like gum Arabic before printing so that they didn’t take any of the ink.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Johnny Frenchman |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithography |
| Brief description | Colour lithograph (zincograph). Designed by Barnett Freedman. Poster advertising the film Johnny Frenchman, starring Françoise Rosay, Tom Walls and Patricia Roc, produced by Ealing Studios, Great Britain, ca. 1945. |
| Physical description | 'Johnny Frenchman'. Colour lithograph poster advertising the film, starring Françoise Rosay, Tom Walls and Patricia Roc, produced by Ealing Studios. The design incorporates portraits of the three actors. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'Barnett Freedman. 45.' (Signed and dated) |
| Production | The zinc plate for the portraits of the three actors is object E.342-1964. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Barnett Freedman (1901-1958) was a leading poster designer and typographer. It was printed using offset lithography, where a second cylinder picks up an image from a printing plate before transferring it onto paper. We know this because the portraits on a zinc plate in the collection (see E.342-1964 EDUC 9E) are the same orientation as here, rather than in reverse. Zinc plates were used in offset lithography, because they could be curved around the printing cylinders. Other plates (not in the collection) reproduced the bands of colour and the text. The grainy appearance of the image is typical of the effects achieved with lithographic chalks. Some of the lettering has been drawn, some seems to have been transferred (e.g. lower right corner) and some stencilled (top right). For the text bands, scroll and portrait strip to remain white, the corresponding parts of the first, colour, plates would be masked off using a grease-resistant substance like gum Arabic before printing so that they didn’t take any of the ink. |
| Associated objects |
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| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | 14/A1 - V&A microfiche |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.341-1964 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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