JON O. BRUBAKER (1875-?) CALIFORNIA / AMERICA'S VACATION LAND / NEW YORK CENTRAL LINES. 1925. 39 3/4x26 1/2 inches, 101x67 1/4 cm. Latham Litho. & Printing Co., Long Island City, New York. Condition B / B+: repaired tear from top edge into image; restoration along horizontal creases in margins and through image; small replaced losses in margins. The New York Central Lines began using posters as advertisements in 1925. This poster was the second one they ever issued. It is "a powerfully evocative depiction of California's distinctive golden hills aglow in sunset hues" (Zega p. 68). This "Western wanderlust" became a major theme in the posters of all different rail lines, in which the paradise that was California was used to sell train tickets. Brubaker "was well known for his 'color harmony and tone quality.' A California resident who was best known for his interpretation of California subjects, his work was often included in the New York Art Directors Club's annual exhibition" (ibid). Zega 87, Southern California 8.
