Adolph Friedländer

In 1872, Adolph Friedländer (1851–1904) founded a printing company in Hamburg, Germany. They specialised in commissions from circus entrepreneurs, showmen, performers and variety artists and has become a sought-after supplier for clients from Europe thanks to a high-performance lithographic press.

The drafts for the posters were created by draftsmen employed by Friedländer who, based on photographs, portraits or old program slips submitted by the client, converted the respective exhibitions into lively picture scenes and selected a suitable typography. The print shop achieved print runs of up to 3,000 pieces per motif. Because of the high quality of artistic and technical implementation, the company became a leading company in this advertising industry. By the time the Jewish-owned company was forced to close by the National Socialist rulers in 1935, around 9,000 designs had been converted into posters. - Via