A Vintage Airline Poster, Restored

72 degrees and sunny

This original, vintage poster is an homage to all thing California—north and south. You'll spot the Hollywood Bowl, Capitol Records, movie lighting, the Golden Gate bridge and happy people. 72 and sunny, as it were.

The poster was created in 1960 by American artist Peter Boyle, for American Airlines. 

The Damage

Vintage airline posters from the 1960s were not really meant to be kept. They were printed on cheap paper with particularly acidic inks. Only a few lucky posters survived. We found this bright example, but unfortunately it was wrinkled and needed some restoration.

A Restoration Project

We work exclusively with M & W Graphics, a New York-based firm that offers full conservation for most works on paper, using only archival, non-acidic materials. The wrinkle was repaired and color-matched so that you can hardly tell it was mistreated.

This poster was preserved by mounting it with wheat paste to a sheet of high quality acid-free paper, itself bonded to a duck canvas—similar to the canvas we use for our duffel bags.