Collections 5: Vintage Pan Am Posters, early 1960s- late 1980s

               If you get the chance to travel, do it!

It's transformative. Stepping out from the confines of an environment that you grew up in is a means of accessing a new perspective, and the further you travel, the more expansive your understanding and more wondrous the world becomes. This is a concept that the airline industry capitalized on by offering access beyond your limitations.

Founded in March of 1927 as Pan American Airways, the historic flight made by a Fairchild FC-2 floatplane departed from Key West, Florida and landed in Havana, Cuba October 1927 established Pan Am as the leader of commercial air travel throughout the early half of the 20th century. Known internationally as Pan American World Airways, its role as a trailblazer in the flight industry lasted more than 60 years before succumbing to numerous challenges that started to appear in the 1970s. These challenges eventually resulted in Pan Am filing for bankruptcy and ceasing operations in 1991. 

The role of the advertising poster throughout the company's history reveals a fascinating story about the company itself as much as being a significant vehicle for generating interest in the company's services. By commissioning designs by notable artists from around the world, Pan Am posters employed some of the most striking lithographs of the Art Deco period to stylish photography well into the late 1980s, continually eliciting interest and staying at the top of the game of travel. The styles of the designs reflect the public's tastes and expectations, as well as the revolving leadership's efforts to stay relevant and keep the company afloat. 

A collection for true collectors, the vintage posters being presented here take us on an almost 30-year journey of swanky illustrations to big image commercial photography; journeying from Alaska to Istanbul, we are invited into the latter half of Pan Am's legacy; a compelling evolution of a company viewed at the height of its reign to the end of an era.  

PAN AM

Beginning with an assemblage from the early 1960s, referred to as "Romantic Nostalgia", is a rare group of illustrations that are a far cry from the full-color advertisements normally used for travel posters. The posters are also smaller in size  21"x22" and 21"x33" respectively. The standard US travel size poster was typically around 28"x42". The emphasis is on the services offered, spelled out in black print against a stark white backdrop, and Pan Am's logo, the blue globe, prominently displayed. 

                           

                                

The illustrations pull you into the intimate exchanges of a couple while on vacation or a tourist getting organized. Whatever the situation, the figures are all doing it with style. This is You, going There, to do That, looking like This! 

PAN AMERICAN - World's Most Experienced Airline

As we move along, the focus of travel shifted to cultural representatives; beautiful women wearing traditional garments against a mostly solid backdrop, are featured in what is called the "Women of the World series", 1964 - as shown below; each poster measuring approximately: 28" x 42", with the exception of "Thailand", which was trimmed.  

                                                          

Although this is not the complete group, this series was made up of nineteen different images that were also used for promotional calendars for Pan Am Cargo from 1963 - 1964. 

With regard to the design, the presence of the logo was omitted, and the destination as well as the printing across the bottom of the poster are silk screened over the offset lithography. This technique is both a cost effective marketing strategy and allowed for flexibility in how the posters were presented for different markets by printing a stock image without text. Some of these posters may be found with different languages and even with the logo. 

GROOVY ART AND LOGOS -  Late 60s and early 70s

As the conflict in Vietnam intensified, the world transitioned to unrest, major changes were taking place within the company as well. The company's founder, Juan Trippe, retired and was succeeded by former pilot and then president of Pan Am, Harold E. Gray. A year later, Pan Am introduced the Boeing 747; it's inaugural flight, January 21, 1970.  

"American culture is essentially individualistic, rather than communitarian," - How the Seventies Changed America, Nicholas Lemann, July/August 1991

"Italy - Pan Am, 1969" is an example of illustrative posters that fill the senses with wonder, expectation, and of course, style during this time. With emphasis on key elements to pique one's interest, there wasn't a specific artist or direction of design implemented. The posters from this period are stand-alone advertisements that simply reflected the times. 

SMALLER TRAVEL POSTER SERIES, 1970

Pan Am was operating at its peak during this period with most service operating between New York, Europe, and South America.

Venezuela, 1970 is part of a new series. This series measures approximately 25" x 36" and reverts to a formulaic design consisting of full color photo offsets with the destination silk screened. Pan Am's logo is printed in blue against a white background.   

ANOTHER GREAT SERIES, 1975

Below are five posters from a series of 20 different images. These posters incorporated destination photography with bold typography that was integrated into the setting, creating an entirely new effect. 

                   

Even though the logo is featured less prominently, this new design continued to set Pan Am apart from its competitors. 

THE LATE 1970s

 The rising oil costs hit Pan Am hard on many fronts. More competitors, higher overhead, ill-timed investments, and debts accruing, Pan Am's finances were seriously compromised.  But this didn't deter the company from showing a solid front and reminding its customers and the world of the company's pioneering spirit in this illustrative poster, 50 Years of Experience, Pan Am, 1977, by John T. McCoy.     

The design consists of 11 different images, each one has the artist's printed signature, from float-plane to the most recent Boeing 747 - this could have even been used as a promotional booklet.   

 

               

A new series emerged amidst the ongoing turmoil.

The biggest change was how the logo was handled. Instead of it usual horizontal format, the logo was now turned on its head; placed vertically on the right side of the poster with a full color photograph of the destination behind it and the title of the location off to the side as shown in Seattle, 1977. 

It was a bold maneuver to capture your attention. 

Another change was in addition to its international destinations, more domestic locations were being featured at this time.  

Below from left to right: (1979) Japan; (1980) Arizona, New Orleans, San Francisco:

                   

THE FLASHY 80s

Though continuing to lose it's competitive edge on the world's stage Pan Am was determined to do whatever it had to and could do to stay in the forefront of people's minds as far as travel was concerned.

   

Displayed above: (1983) Istanbul, Los Angeles, New York

Pan Am enlisted the design services of Chenault Inc. during the early 80s. Against a smooth surface, a destination photo served as a backdrop for all of the other elements. The logo is the least prominent feature, quietly positioned at the upper left corner; the bottom of the poster, however, is where the most dynamic action is taking place. A smaller photo of the destination's representative is placed at the lower left corner at an angle so that it stands out along with the title across the bottom of the poster at an angle as well emphasizing the smaller photo.  This series was published in 1982-1983.

PAN AM'S WORLD

Within four years of publishing this series, Pan Am would cease operations. This group would be Pan Am's final series, aptly titled, Pan Am's  World. 

Pan Am laid the foundation for many other airlines, even becoming the nation's unofficial air carrier. On August 6, 1937, Juan Trippe accepted United States aviation's highest annual prize, the Collier Trophy, on behalf of PAA from President Franklin D. Roosevelt for the company's "establishment of the transpacific airline and the successful execution of extended overwater navigation and the regular operations thereof." [1] 

"At its height Pan Am was well regarded for its modern fleet, innovative cabin design and experienced crews: cabin staff were multilingual and usually college graduates, hired from around the world, frequently with nursing training. Pan Am's onboard service and cuisine, inspired by Maxim's de Paris, were delivered "with a personal flair that has rarely been equaled." [2]

Pan Am displays its pride by laying claim to the destinations portrayed: 

       

       

       

None of this would have been made possible without foresight and determination and the use of posters that now serve as documentation of a company's lasting and impactful legacy.