The Chap-Book Posters by Will H. Bradley

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American
Art Nouveau
Posters  Designed by Will H. Bradley for The Chap-Book.

Herbert Stuart Stone and Hannibal Ingalls Kimball, Jr. were two Harvard seniors (“Class of ’94”) who established the publishing house of Stone & Kimball while still in school. They spent an inordinate amount of their time on the project, prompting some of one professor to threaten failure and expulsion.

Their little literary magazine The Chap-Book was meant to be a simple advertising vehicle for their publications. But it quickly became an important literary and artistic publication, attracting the work of writers and artists worldwide.

Chicago artist Will H. Bradley designed a total of seven literary posters for the Stone & Kimball publication. He also designed some of their books. His poster, ‘The Twins,’ for the May 1894 issue of The Chap-Book is today considered the first American Art Nouveau poster.