This series of stamps features vintage movie posters from black and white films (1920s-40s) staring African-American actors and entertainers. The fonts in the posters are similar to hand painted signs from that that time. Below are two examples of hand painted signs (circa 1930) and a detail of two stamps.
The choice of font for the text “Black Cinema USA 42” is Aldous Vertical. Designed in 1935, it is an era-appropriate, art deco font with an American feel.
What attracted me to these stamps was the layout of the page as a section of film and the conceptual use of bright color to advertise black and white movies. The black in the design represents not only the edges of film, but the darkness of a theater. The vivid colors of the posters describe the character and vitality of these African-American performers.
