Throwback Thursday: Vintage Packaging Design

This week we’re embracing Throwback Thursday here at Mzuri, and we can’t think of a better subject than vintage packaging and signage. Phil has always had a special admiration for some of these painterly relics – and with Dean’s love for typography, they’re a design team’s dream!

Tin advertising first appeared on signage and packaging at the start of the 19th century in America. Back then, each piece of tin was hand painted, meaning that they were fairy costly to produce. It was the lithograph that changed the face of this process however, as industrialisation rumbled on, paper became the preferred option for advertising. At this time, most food products came in tin-plated packaging, which was then adorned with labels that had either been stencilled or printed onto paper. As the century progressed, tin signs were painted, stencilled and lithographed – creating durable, vibrant advertising.

Images courtesy of Jonathan Lawrence, typehunting.com

These revolutionary processes challenged and transformed typography – bringing about much of the brand imagery that we know and love today. There is something fascinating about looking back and observing the artistry in these examples of nineteenth century packaging and signage. We’re not sure what it is, but each is a piece of visual history – and we love them.

If you too are in the mood for a throwback, check out typehunting.com – a blog by Jonathan Lawrence in which he collates all kinds of swoon-worthy typography of the vintage persuasion. All the photograph’s are Jonathan’s own.