Color Variations

Whoever thought that big band posters of the WWII era could be produced in such a variety of colors? These four Tommy Dorsey concert posters all hail from the 1940s. The red and green ones – for successive nights in 1940 - don’t mention the fact that a young Frank Sinatra was a singer in the Dorsey band at the time.

The orange and yellow window cards are both from either 1941 – which would also include Sinatra – or more likely, we feel, from 1947, because the MCA logo has been stripped away, leaving a blank white oval. The words “Of Swing” were also removed (after “The Sentimental Gentleman”). Can anyone shed some definitive light on this for us?

And there’s no questioning what year the two Artie Shaw tour posters are from, because 1939 is stated clearly on the poster. Orange, yellow, take your pick – it’s a great design!