SMASH Illustrations Brief History

Vintage illustrations can be seen on many different kinds of print, from advertisements to t-shirts, and pins and posters. A sort of nostalgic feeling can come over you when you see a retro design. It can bring back memories from your childhood, show historical features, and all while looking cool and original in a different way. By awakening your senses, it allows you to remember of a simpler, less modern time.

William Addison Dwiggins, an artist, book designer, and calligrapher from the early 1900’s, was the first to come up with the term “graphic design” in 1922 when he printed an essay titled “New Kind of Printing Calls for New Design.”

Retro Vintage Advertisments

Old retro advertisements are a great collectible for a lot of people who see them as investments or just for the love of collecting. Vintage European poster advertisements have become a highly popular form of art for a lot of collectors. They were widely seen in America as well, and we can all recall seeing those vintage sci-fi posters for movies and shows back when many thought aliens would soon be overtaking the world.

In the late 1800’s advertising agencies would commission freelance artists for a painting called a maquette. The artists would usually use water color, and if accepted by the advertising agency, would be recreated on a limestone surface. It was known as a lithographic printing process that involved many different color applications which were applied to each piece of paper one color at a time. During this lithographic printing process, a different limestone surface was used when a new color was being used. This process of printing was used for over 65 years.

Smash T-Shirts Inspired by Monty Python’s Flying Circus

Some people think that Vintage or retro graphics can be dull or old looking. But for a lot of people, that is exactly the kind of originality and creativity they are looking for. Not all vintage illustrations are colorless though. The Monty Python’s “Flying Circus” designs from their BBC television series of the 60’s and 70’s are an example of this.

In recent years, vintage clothing has been booming across the United States. Now many choose to show off their love for the vintage style by wearing a t-shirt that displays many different topics in a retro style. You can boast your love for your favorite sports team, band from many eras, movie classics, cartoons and more. It portrays an artistic and original design that you can display as wearable art that few others will also be seen with.

Getting true Vintage clothing is the most desired, as those original shirts created in the 60’s and 70’s are hard to come by. It is hard to replicate a true innovative design from those days, but there are many that try. Without some knowledge, many are easily fooled by the great vintage look-a-likes that are made nowadays. A real vintage tee should also be known what is called a “50/50.” This means that it should be 50% cotton, 50% polyester to give it that vintage look and unique soft, light feel.

Smash T-Shirts Vintage Reproductions

Smash T-Shirts is thrilled to offer some really great vintage designs that try to realistically reproduce the feel and quality of actual vintage shirts. Customers have a choice to use the 50/50 blend, one hundred percent cotton, or the comfortable feel of the organic tee’s.  The image quality is perfect and many hours are spent rendering the graphics.