Gouache by Mowder - Original Illustration Art for Foster & Kleiser Billboard c 1929 P3331

This extremely accomplished outdoor advertising maquette opens a window into the history and practice of the All-American Billboard. Since Foster & Kleiser were the billboard pioneers, this is a perfect example of the medium deciding to be the message. Measures 11" x 39". Foster & Kleiser Outdoor Advertising was founded in 1901, Walter Foster and George William Kleiser were outdoor advertising's original pioneers and have been credited with propelling the industry from simple posters pasted onto any available surface to standardized structures that are uniform, attractive and often feature landscaping enhancements. Early innovations and the automobile brought immediate success for Foster & Kleiser. The prosperity lead to an aggressive expansion from the company's roots in the Pacific Northwest to outdoor plants in Los Angeles, San Francisco and eastward toward the Atlantic seaboard. In 1952 the company was sold to W.R. Grace Co. but retained it's name in the same year Karl