Interborough Rapid Transit Posters
One hundred years ago today... The Interborough Rapid Transit company was printing posters attempting to distinguish itself from its competitor, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit company.
(See NY 1920’s September 7 post about the BRT strike on labor day.
The posters published in September 1920 (exact day unknown) included ads made to look like newspaper front pages. Its purpose was to encourage ridership after the first BRT line into Manhattan opened in 1917:
The Subway Sun, September 1920. America In Class Website.
Other posters released in the year 1920:
The Subway Sun, February 1920. America In Class Website.
The Subway Sun, May 1920. America In Class Website.
The Subway Sun, May 25, 1920, New York City. Interior of an unidentified subway car. A poster advertisement for Joseph P. Day's IRT Lots Sale. New York Heritage Digital Collections.
Subway platform poster advertisement for Joseph P. Day's IRT Lots Sale. May 25, 1920. The Bronx, 242nd Street station. Digital Culture of Metropolitan New York.
The Subway Sun, August 1920. America In Class Website.
One can only imagine how it felt to have read these posters in the crowded subway in NYC, years after the end of World War I.
References/Further reading:
Kirby, Jen. “See Vintage Manspreading Ads and More From the '40s and '50s Subway Courtesy Campaign.” Intelligencer, 10 Mar. 2015.
"The Twenties in New York City Subway Posters. (n.d.). America in Class.
WRITTEN BY MICAH M. RIMANDO, SEPTEMBER 25, 2020.
TAGS: Brooklyn Rapid Transit, BRT Strike, Interborough Rapid Transit, IRT, Subway Advertisements