George H. Kinnamon Poster Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of 106 unique posters (21 posters are duplicate copies), that were collected by the donor’s father, George H. Kinnamon, as he drove through Chicago for work. The majority of these posters date from the 1950s and 1960s. Displayed outdoors, the posters offer a glimpse of entertainment and politics in the city of Chicago and state of Illinois during that time period. The posters advertise ballet performances, benefits, choir performances, circuses, events, ice skating shows, movies, music and dances, opera, racing, sports, theater, and political campaigns for Illinois contests and candidates.
Dates
- 1958-1967, undated
Creator
- Kinnamon, George H. (Collector, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Please consult staff to determine ability to reuse materials from collection.
Biographical / Historical
George Howard Kinnamon (1913-1983) was born in Kansas City, Missouri and raised in Independence, Missouri. In 1942, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an airplane mechanic and was stationed in Italy and North Africa. After his World War II military service ended, Kinnamon returned to government service, this time as an economist in occupied Japan. He grew to love Japanese culture and married a Japanese woman. In 1952, Kinnamon moved to Chicago to seek post-war job opportunities and to study under the G.I. Bill. His last employment was as a union carpenter for the Chicago Board of Education where he was part of a work crew that installed mobile school classrooms for Chicago Public Schools during the 1960s. As he travelled across the city for these projects, he collected outdoor advertising posters posted along his routes that caught his eye. In the end, his collection included posters advertising sporting events and a wide range of entertainment along with local and national political campaigns spanning the late 1950s through the 1960s.
Extent
4 Linear Feet (in 2 boxes (1 oversize folder, 127 posters))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection of 106 unique posters, collected by George H. Kinnamon as he drove through Chicago for his work, offers a glimpse at posted outdoor advertisements of public entertainment and politics in Chicago and Illinois during the 1950s and 1960s.
Arrangement
The posters are split into two series: Series 1: Entertainment Posters, 1959-1967, undated and Series 2: Political Posters, 1958-1963, undated.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Linda Kinnaman in 2018.
- Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America. Medinah Temple (Chicago, Ill.)
- Chicago Auto Show
- Circus posters -- Illinois -- Chicago Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Daley, Richard J., 1902-1976
- Dirksen, Everett McKinley
- Douglas, Paul H. (Paul Howard), 1892-1976
- Exposition Opera House (Chicago, Ill.)
- Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973
- Music--Posters -- Illinois -- Chicago Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Orchestra Hall (Chicago, Ill.)
- Political posters, American Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Richter, Sviatoslav, 1915-1997
- Sports posters Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Theatrical posters -- Illinois -- Chicago Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Guide to the George H. Kinnamon Poster Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Spenser Bailey, 2019. Updated and ingested into ArchivesSpace by Michelle McCoy, 2021.
- Date
- 2021
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Unit at Harold Washington Library Center Repository
Harold Washington Library Center, 9th Floor
Chicago Public Library
400 S. State Street
Chicago IL 60605 United States
(312) 747-4875
specoll@chipublib.org