OUR STORY

Globe Poster reflected the evolving culture of the 20th century. The art and messages promoted the day’s must-see entertainment through eye-catching, and hard-to-miss posters seen on telephone poles, walls, windows, and record stores across the country. These posters provide fascinating insight into the historic trends in music, sports, theatre and the civil rights movement.
 

Norman I. Shapiro was one of seven brothers born to immigrant parents in Philadelphia. These brothers, beginning in 1914 with nothing more than a sixth-grade education, became entrepreneurs and founded seven poster printing companies in seven cities. Among these businesses were: Globe Poster, Triangle Poster and Printing, Southern Poster, American Poster and Printing, and Western Poster.

It was one of those plants, Southern Poster Printing Company in Atlanta, that employed a young Martin Luther King, Jr. while he attended Morehouse College. This early relationship formed a foundation for our family’s long time association with this inspirational leader and the Civil Rights movement.

100 years later—now third and fourth generation in our family tradition of printing—my father and I are excited to bring the story to life for thousands of people who love the the Voices and the Faces that amplify the African American experience in Globe Poster Art.  We look forward to sharing these great posters with those who will appreciate and learn from them.

— Lori Gale and Duke Zimmerman

 

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