11 WPA sheets · 1936–1939 · framed from $95 · ready to hang
National park posters, printed from the Library of Congress scan
Between 1936 and 1943 the Works Progress Administration silkscreened about 1,400 poster designs to put artists back to work. Around 900 survive. These are those sheets — not a modern illustration in the style of them — restored by hand from the archive's own scan and printed at 200 dpi or better, so the screen registration and the flat mineral colour survive to the wall instead of banding into mush.
- Public domainfederal work-relief programme — printed honestly, source named
- Ready to hangsolid wood, 2 in white mat, acrylic front, hardware fitted
- 30-day replacementdamaged or wrong — one photo, nothing to send back
- Never sold as originalsan original 1938 sheet is a four-figure object; this is a print of one
Why this and not the $12 version of the same poster
Three differences you can see across a room
Flat colour is unforgiving
A silkscreen is large areas of a single ink. Enlarge a small JPEG of one and those areas band into visible steps and the lettering edges go ragged. Starting from the archive master is the only way a 24 in print of a WPA sheet holds its edges — and it is the whole difference between these and the cheap ones.
Restored, not redrawn
Fold lines, tape shadows, foxing and scanner cast removed by hand. The paper tone, the screen registration and the ink left as the surviving sheet has them. Nothing is redrawn, recoloured or "cleaned up" into a modern illustration.
The shape is the point
These sheets are tall and narrow because they were made to be pasted in a railway station. That is exactly the proportion of a stairwell wall, a hallway, or the gap either side of a doorway — where a square canvas never looks right.
All 11 posters
8 park and monument sheets, plus the "See America" travel series. Dated 1936 to 1939.
See America Visit the National Parks WPA Poster, 1936
The National Parks Preserve Wild Life WPA Poster, 1936
Wild Life The National Parks Preserve All Life WPA Poster, 1936
See America WPA Poster, 1936
See America Welcome to Montana WPA Poster, 1936
Welcome to Montana Rothstein WPA Poster, 1936
Yellowstone National Park WPA Poster, 1938
Lassen Volcanic National Park WPA Poster, 1938
Grand Canyon National Park WPA Poster, 1938
Fort Marion National Monument WPA Poster, 1938
Zion National Park WPA Poster, 1939
Before you choose a size
See it on your own wall
Every product page places the print in five to-scale rooms with an optional 5 ft 6 in figure beside it, or drops it onto a photograph of your own wall — the photo stays in your browser and never reaches us. Framed outside size is shown as well as print size. Size guide →
Questions
Are these the original WPA posters?
No — and we never describe them as originals. Between 1936 and 1943 the Works Progress Administration silkscreened about 1,400 poster designs; roughly 900 survive in any form, most in the Library of Congress, and an original sheet at auction is a four- or five-figure object. Each of ours is a new archival print made from the Library of Congress's own scan, restored by hand. The archive record is linked on every product page.
Why do these look better than the ones on poster sites?
Because of what we start from. A poster site prints a small web JPEG enlarged until the silkscreen edges go soft and the flat colour fields band. We work from the archive master and restore the sheet by hand — fold lines, tape shadows, foxing and the scanner's colour cast removed, but the paper tone, the screen registration and the original ink left exactly as they are. The before-and-after slider on each product page shows what changed.
Are they in the public domain?
Yes. WPA posters were produced by a US federal work-relief programme and are in the public domain in the United States. That is why we can print them honestly and say where each one came from, rather than selling an "inspired by" imitation.
Which parks do you have?
8 park and monument sheets at the moment — Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Zion, Lassen Volcanic, Fort Marion, and the "See America" and "The National Parks Preserve Wild Life" series. Dated 1936 to 1939. If you want a specific park, ask — sourcing a surviving sheet takes a few days and not every park was ever given one.
What size and finish?
The original sheets are tall and narrow, which is why they work so well in a stairwell, a hallway or flanking a doorway. Archival matte paper with pigment inks rolled in a tube, stretched canvas, or framed in solid wood — black, natural oak or white — with a 2 in white mat, a clear acrylic front and the hanging hardware already fitted.
Do they work as a set?
They are made for it — the series shares a palette and a format, so three or four hung in a row read as one piece. The gallery wall sets page takes 10% off the second framed print.
How long does it take?
Made to order in 2–4 business days, shipped from a facility in or near your country. US orders over $75 ship free, and the claim form gets a free replacement printed within 30 days of delivery if anything arrives damaged.
More to look at
The full poster collection · Park topographic maps — hang the poster beside the survey of the same park · Gallery wall sets · Vertical wall art