DESIGNER UNKNOWN MONTAUK BEACH. Circa 1929.
25x19 1/4 inches, 63 1/2x49 cm. Winchell Publicity Service, New York.
Condition B: repaired tears, restoration and overpainting in margins and image.
F. Scott Fitzgerald coined the phrase "The Jazz Age" to refer to the 1920s. He went on to epitomize the era in his classic novel "The Great Gatsby," which was published in 1925. In 1929, a movie called the "The Jazz Age" was released. It seemed as though everyone was capitalizing on this new period of excitement and wealth including poster designers, who as we see here, played straight to the Gatsby-set. The development of Montauk in the mid 1920s was solely attributed to one rather extraordinary entrepreneur named Carl Fisher. Amongst Fisher's previous accomplishments was the almost single-handed development of Miami Beach into an international destination for America's wealthiest families. In 1925, he turned his attention to Montauk, an area he rightfully regarded as being ripe for development. He purchased the entire area, almost 10,000 acres, and began developing it. His vision was singular; he would create "a Miami of the north" so the wealthy could live by his slogan, "Miami in the Winter, Montauk in the Summer." His vast plan included a 200-room luxury hotel (The Manor), golf courses, a boardwalk, facilities for tennis and polo, archery, fox hunting and much more. He also created a deep, safe harbor for large yachts by blasting an opening from the freshwater Lake Montauk to the sea. This poster dates from between 1929 and 1932, which we can deduce from the fact that on October 24, 1935, the East Hampton Star Newspaper reported that "The first deluxe Pullman Lounge Cars were put in service on the Long Island Railroad in 1929." Also, Fisher was hit by intense financial difficulties after a hurricane struck his properties in Miami, and then in the crash of 1929. By 1932, he was bankrupt and his empire had collapsed. This rare poster is one of only a few known examples. It is an exceptional representation of the tail end of the Roaring Twenties.