Cyrk Boxing Bear 1962 Polish Circus Poster, Andrzej Onegin-Dabrowski

One of the earliest Polish Cyrk /Circus posters and, for a relatively little fella, it sure packs a hell of a punch! Knockout design by Andrzej Onegin-Dabrowski

The ‘Cyrk” circus poster in Poland appeared for the first time in 1962 when the ZPR (Zjednoczone Przedsiębiorstwa Rozrywkowe, or United Entertainment Enterprises), the state agency that oversaw the circus, commissioned leading artists from the Polish School of Posters to develop a modern approach to the circus poster.

The ZPR wanted a new look for the circus poster to complement the circus’ efforts to upgrade its image. Not intended to advertise specific performances, they, rather, celebrated the essence of the circus through rich artistic expression with designs typically featuring clever metaphors, bold colours and humour. Heavy in symbolism, provocative and highly original the designs remain contemporary to this day and continue to gain appreciation.

This vintage poster has been professionally linen-backed and is sized 18 3/4 x 26 3/4 inches (20 3/4 x 29 inches including the linen-backing). It is in Excellent/Near Mint condition, just touch-up to a little paper surface loss on middle left side of image. Looks fantastic and will be rolled (unframed).