Show Cards^389The show card (or sho-card) was the
quintessential form of early commercial art.
It embodied essential design attributes of
balance, harmony, and proportion that enabled
unsophisticated designers, primarily job printers,
to produce effective advertising. But even such
modern pioneers as El Lissitzky, Jan Tschichold,
E. McKnight Kauffer, Herbert Bayer, and Paul
Rand adhered to the same design truth associated
with the show card: Primary colors and sans serif
typefaces resulted in eye-catching design.
Starting in the late nineteenth century,
the show card was a piece of bristol board on
which a letterer or artist would draw or paint a
message or image. The quantities that were
produced were invariably limited. Eventually
show cards were printed on multilith presses,
and stereotype plates were designed by art
service agencies, which distributed to printing
companies large and small. Standard show cards
were produced by printers and sign makers, who
inserted their own wood and metal types into
the empty mortised sections on the printing
plate.
Various styles filled sample books, but
around 1920 the now classic format was initiated
by Empire Litho, a printing firm in Massachu-
setts, and was quickly adopted by job printers
throughout the nation. These predominantly
type-based posters printed against one or two
stark primary colors became the most ubiquitous
medium of advertising for all kinds of regional
events, including county fairs, vaudeville and
movies, prize fights, square dances, and political
campaigns.