1939 Morgan Litho Poster

Today my Dad hit a milestone, 90 years old.

My love of posters, art, and the constant need to learn stuff for the sake of learning stuff — I owe  to Dad.

Dad originally wanted to become a shrink, but WWII and life as medic in Patton’s army erased that thought. I’m glad. I loved growing up in a print shop. Hanging out on stacks of paper. Watching the presses. Playing with type. Learning how to retouch photos the old fashioned way in the darkroom. It was cool.

Dad is one of the few men still alive who know stone lithography because he learned the skill in the 1930′s.

1939 Movie Poster - Printed in Cleveland

He worked in his teens in a few shops in Cleveland. Possibly even printed the poster at the top. Who knows. Well, maybe not, registration doesn’t look 100% perfect enough. The other poster definitely. Perfection ruled when Dad was in charge. Always do your best, it’s not much harder to achieve.

Next time you look at some of those eye-poppingly beautiful posters from the Golden years of Hollywood, keep a few of these freaky facts in mind. Many of the Hollywood posters you drool over were printed in were made in Cleveland , Ohio. Go Brownies. And, secondly, did Louise’s Dad have something to do with that?

Keep on Truckin’ Dad.