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Ethel Reed and the Poster Craze

This blog introduces the talented poster artist Ethel Reed (1874-1912) and recounts her remarkable success. One of the most talented and prolific artists of the 1890s, she made her name during the poster craze of the period. She produced book illustrations, cover designs, and more than 25 posters, mostly in just two years, 1895 and 1896. Her creative burst earned her international recognition and she traveled to Europe and completed a few commissions for British publications through about 1898. Then she disappeared from the historical record until a 2013 biography by William Peterson detailed her sad end.