ADVERTISING THE GREAT
STATE FAIR
Hart-Kaiser Posters from the War Years
BY: JANE DOE
This paper analyzes two
posters advertising the
Minnesota State Fair.
The posters illustrate the
importance of the Fair as
a cultural meeting point
and the embodiment of
optimism and patriotism
about the new culture
of European-Americans
in Minnesota. Agricul-
tural and domestic arts
were the backbone of life
for many Minnesotans.
While industries of ex-
traction and manufac-
turing had made many
new fortunes, to a ma-
jority of the population,
the exchange of informa-
tion and artistry was an
important annual ritual,
and the landscape of the
fairgrounds was an im-
portant container for
that exchange.
Both Posters are credit-
ed to “Hart-Kaiser” and
are letterpress-printed
on heavy board measur-
ing 19.5” x 14”. Simi-
lar in design, half of the
poster is text that names
the fair and its dates
and an imperative, “We
Must Mobilize for Food
Efficiency.” The other
half contains a colorful
illustration about an as-
pect of the fair. The team
of Hart-Kaiser created
many such posters over
the years; I chose two
from the same year that
illustrate different but
complimentary aspects
of the State Fair.
While not specifically dat-
ed, an intake date on a
different poster in the col-
lection of the Minnesota
Historical Society places
this style between 1910 and
1919. The imperative about
food efficiency narrows the
range to the years of ra-
tioning during or shortly
after WWI, 1917-1919.
The first poster’s illustration contains a centered im-
age of European-American woman in large, armless
upholstered chair sewing a quilt in a home setting.
Done in a flat, Japanese print perspective style, a
floor lamp and cat are in front of her at the edge of
the viewing plane. The woman and the cat gaze out
towards viewer. To her right stands a pedestal lidded
box, perhaps holding sewing notions. A heavy, velvet-
looking curtain hangs behind, creating a backdrop
to the asymmetrically-balanced composition. To the
right of the curtain hang a wall decoration and two
framed pictures. The one in an oval frame appears
to be a man’s portrait, while the other is a small rect-
angular image reminiscent of the painting of woman
in cap seen in profile.

The posters were printed

with a furniture letterpress
with individual metal type;
the impressions of the type
are still visible on the board.
The linework is done in
chunks, and ink buildup is
visible on the edge of color
fields. The illustrations are
photo engraved in what ap-
pears to be a five-color pro-
cess (Tincher, 2007).
The woman’s red hair is curled and put up, with small pin or bow on the right. She
wears a yellow-ruffled blouse or shirtwaist. The lamp, pedestal box and wall-hang-
ing are all done in an arts-and-crafts style with an “oriental” motif. The quilt or
spread that the woman is sewing has alternating blocks of red and white, possibly a
subtle patriotic reminder, and various colored blocks with a square motif.

Attention is drawn to the woman through the use of complimentary colors and a
triangular composition. Walls are deep purple with darker purple curtains and the
woman’s clothes predominantly yellow in color. The quilt forms the base of a trian-
gular composition with the woman’s head at the apex. A finishing detail, the white
cat in the foreground stands out from the deeply patterned mid-ground and con-
trasts with the dark background.

The message of this poster is one of prosperity, comfort and personal industry. The
State Fair was the zenith of display and competition of the domestic arts. The illus-
tration conveys a standard of living that was not achievable to the majority of citi-
zens at the time, but could be obtained by proxy by submitting entries in or attend-
ing the fair. A room of this rich finish, complete with white cat, speaks to the many
families who made fortunes in the lumber, agricultural, manufacturing and trans-
portation industries at that time, but would not be a standard room in an average
Minnesotan household. The fancy, ruffled sleeves with three buttons were not a style
worn by women who were attending to heavy household chores.
The second poster illustrates a man demonstrating cultivation driving metal-
wheeled tractor. A large thresher or similar machine sits to the left in the immediate
background, with a cone-roofed silo sits to the right and behind. The tractor is sur-
rounded by a dozen well-dressed people, nine men and three women, all European-
American in appearance. All are wearing hats; the variety of mens’ styles include
bowler, cap, “mountie,” flat straw, fedora, and short top hat. While the tractor driv-
er’s sleeves are rolled, his gentlemanly outfit includes collar and tie.

The rich, turned soil in the foreground and the smartly-dressed fairgoers commu-
nicate prosperity. The cheerful flags and modern advances displayed at Machinery
Hill speak of an optimism about the new culture of Minnesota that appears to have
continued throughout the war years. Abundant agricultural opportunity due to fer-
tile soil and technological farming advances overshadow the demand to “mobilize
for food efficiency.”

While technological changes were happening rapidly,

Bibliography
crop yields still necessitated a large segment of the Eu-
ropean-American immigrant population to be farmers. Minnesota Historical Society
The fair allowed an annual exchange of information Domestic Arts Poster,
and demonstration of crop and husbandry achieve- FM6.55D a1, circa 1918
ments and showcased new advances in technology. Machinery Hill Poster,
FM6.53 a3, circa 1918
Tod Hart Photograph, N1.1
In both posters, the colors of the illustration above are r50, 1922
generally complimentary to the type below. The eye
is drawn to the bright, yellow field of type balanced Tincher, Michael; graphic
by the vividly colored illustration above. The fair was arts and printing expert;
well-enough known that the minimum amount of in- poster examination and
formation was deemed necessary to get people to the conversation with the author,
April 21, 2007
fairgrounds—just the title of the event, with no times
or location information given. Wisconsin Historical Society
News release dated March
As an institution, the State Fair was important for 9, 1918 from Madison, WI
Minnesota’s new society. As a landscape, the Fair- office of the Wisconsin Divi-
grounds was an integral part of the yearly gathering, sion of the United States
the “stage” containing the buildings and space neces- Food Administration.
http://content.wisconsin-
sary for the annual ritual to play out.
history.org/cdm4/docu-
ment.php?CISOROOT=/
tp&CISOPTR=12266