Feature Points
- VINTAGE PRINT REPRODUCTION: Historic reproduction of 1894 Harper's Christmas Magazine Poster. Printed on archival-grade paper that resists fading and discoloration for over 100 years. Perfect for home, office, or gallery display.
- PREMIUM GALLERY PAPER: Heavyweight fine art paper with non-reflective matte finish eliminates glare while delivering museum-grade appearance and lasting durability.
- PROFESSIONALLY RESTORED: Each image is digitally restored by our art specialists to remove age-related deterioration while preserving authentic historical details and character.
- BORDERLESS DESIGN: Artwork prints edge-to-edge for a seamless, gallery-ready appearance. Ships protected in rigid tube packaging to prevent damage and ensure perfect condition upon arrival.
- MADE IN USA: Our multi-step restoration process and quality control ensure each print meets professional standards. Every reproduction is individually inspected before shipping.
Additional Information
Published in 1894, this holiday poster by Edward Penfield advertised the coveted Christmas issue of Harper's Magazine during the golden age of American publishing. Harper & Brothers had launched their monthly poster program just the previous year, inspired by the enthusiastic reception of a Christmas 1892 design by French artist Eugène Grasset.
Penfield, born in Brooklyn in 1866 and trained at the Art Students League of New York, joined Harper & Brothers at the age of twenty-five as a staff artist. His promotion to art director gave him creative freedom to produce a remarkable series of seventy-five monthly posters between 1893 and 1899, establishing him as the father of the American poster movement.
The 1890s witnessed an extraordinary "poster craze" that swept through American cities, as publishers competed with bold, colorful designs displayed in bookshop windows and newsstands. Harper's appealed to educated, middle-class readers with fiction, poetry, and articles on art and travel, and Penfield's Christmas editions carried particular prestige among collectors and enthusiasts.
This reproduction preserves a landmark work from the decade that transformed American graphic design forever. Celebrated by the Smithsonian and Metropolitan Museum of Art alike, Penfield's Harper's posters remain among the most sought-after examples of nineteenth-century commercial art and enduring symbols of the Gilded Age publishing world.
