Poster for Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, January 1896

In the late nineteenth century, popular publications such as Harper’s New Monthly Magazine promoted their upcoming issues a month in advance by distributing advertising posters. From January through November of 1896, Harper’s presented a series of articles on Colonial America by Princeton historian Woodrow Wilson, still many years before his tenure as President of the United States. Wilson specifically requested that Howard Pyle illustrate the articles, resulting in a much anticipated and highly successful body of work. Edward Penfield’s promotional poster, published in December 1895, did not seek to emulate Pyle’s style, but used instead Penfield’s signature flat, graphic design.