03 June 2013

"Is this the only protection you have?"

Swiss Poster, 1948  
 
Shortly after my divorce I became obsessed with Swiss posters.  They were massive things, usually 50"x35" and amazing value for the money.  There were a number of sources I bought from but my favorite dealer was in Chicago on South Michigan Avenue.  He told me all he knew about this poster of an umbrella was it had something to do with insurance.

 I had a client who was Swiss and at lunch I passed her the listing for the poster and asked if she would translate.  "Is this the only protection you have?" she told me and jotted the translation down as she took a sip of wine.  She pushed the listing back at me and said, "You should hang it over your bed."

6 comments:

Makaga said...

Wow, that would be great above the bed. Fun story!
I once saw a totally different poster above a girl's bed that I am sure would terrify most men from proceeding further. I'll tell you about it next time.

Benjamin L Clark said...

Fantastic. When I lived in Texas I was able to come up with a few 1960s/70s Mexican bullfight posters. Also, huge, and cheap, but I like this better.

Smitty said...

To wish you responded, "Yes, and I will ensure that it is well hung."

bmackintosh said...

I love Swiss posters as well and took a few shots of some while at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. If you are ever in Zurich that museum has a whole section on posters.

Anonymous said...

Cheeky. Truth is, she missed your whole reason for having an interest in, of all things, a poster with so mundane a visual.

But I get it. So buy the poster, and instead, hang it near your front door where it truly belongs.

-DB

Bob Getty said...

As a German, this totally made my day!