The Book
Between 1935 and 1943 the WPA’s Federal Art Project printed over two million posters in 35,000 different designs to stir the public’s imagination for education, theater, health, safety, and travel. Due to their fragile nature only two thousand posters have survived to this day; less than one tenth of one percent! Ranger Doug’s Enterprises is the only source for faithful reproductions of WPA National Park serigraphed posters.
Read the complete history here…
Ranger Doug’s Enterprises is the only source for faithful reproductions of WPA National Park serigraphed posters. Only 14 park designs were originally produced between 1938 and 1941 in Berkeley California–with only 100 copies made for a total of 1400 prints. Then WWII terminated the program and after the war, they were forgotten. A chance discovery in 1971 led then ranger Doug Leen on a mission, taking over 30 years, to find out the extent of this set and rescue what was left, Today only 43 of these 1400 have surfaced. In 1992, a laborious mission to restore this set began–one screen at a time and are again offered as original hand-made serigraphs. Due to the immediate popularity of reintroducing this unique art, many National Parks have commissioned Ranger Doug to continue this series with contemporary designs “in the style” the WPA. We now publish a total of about 70 park designs with more planned (several designs are offered in limited editions and different colorations bringing our total print collection to about 80).
Our images are also offered as note cards and postcards. In addition to the poster images, we have restored the 22 historic window stickers known as “Zoo Stickers” named so because of an animal featured on each. Like our posters, parks have commissioned contemporary “zoo stickers” and we now offer an additional 23 contemporary sticker designs in this style covering 45 parks and monuments. The latest addition to our product line are refrigerator magnets* which are very popular.
*My philosophy has been to keep quality high and not pander to the “trinket” trade seen in so many bookstores. I caved in on magnets simply because, after donating my private collection of original prints to the NPS and Department of the Interior Museum, they, once again, reentered the public domain. So, if I didn’t make these, someone else would and they (usually) are made off-shore. We manufactures these in Ohio by Purebuttons who produces much of the campaign buttons you see today.
Today, with computers, on-demand printers, the internet and AI, literally 100’s of people are producing “art” in this WPA style with the distinctive footer text and faux Department of the Interior seal. Some are literally copying the actual seal–which is federally protected. Most of these are printed with on-demand printers which fade with time and are poor quality. We at Ranger Doug’s work directly with the National Park Service on commissioned art and everything we produce is Made the USA. Our posters are printed in the same silk-screen method used by the WPA artists of their time at Cole Graphic Solutions in Tacoma Washington. Some of our designs are 10 colors with a base stabilizing coat and a anti-scuff top-coat. I stand 100% behind everything we sell. And, don’t forget my book!!