Frank Buck Had It
c. 1965
Artist
Seymour Chwast
DIMENSIONS
35 x 25 in. (88.9 x 63.5 cm)
OBJECT NUMBER
PH.4303
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
United States
CREDIT LINE
Poster House Permanent Collection
KEYWORDS
Animals, Elephant, Hunting, Man, Monkey, Portrait, Printing Services, Product, Tiger, Weapons, White

This is one of many posters Chwast designed over the years to promote paper manufacturers, in this case Union Camp. Chwast’s psychedelic illustration of a big game hunter riding an elephant with a tiger’s carcass slung across it refers to the Frank Buck of the tagline. Buck (1884–1950) was a Texan game hunter who traveled the world collecting wild creatures for zoos and circuses in the United States. He was hugely famous during the 1930s and ’40s when he published books about his exploits and appeared in a number of films about them; he also had bylines in major newspapers and journals as well as endorsement deals with all kinds of brands. It is likely that his name and his reputation were familiar to many viewers of this poster in the 1960s. The connection to Union Camp paper remains obscure, however.

For inquiries about image licensing, please contact collections@posterhouse.org.

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