Name/Title
1918 - PATHE' OUR NATIONAL PARKS PATHE' COLORED YELLOWSTONE PARK THE GEYSERS / Pathe' / Designer unknownDescription
Pathe’, the French firm which commissioned this 1918 poster, was established in 1896 as a retailer for Edison and Columbia phonographs and their accompanying cylinders. In 1907, the company expanded into films and by the mid-1920s was the largest film company in the world, with subsidiaries in Europe, England and the United States. Unfortunately the 1930s depression took a financial toll on the company. The head of the company at that time, Bernard Nathan, was found guilty of malfeasance and sent to prison. Later released by the French into German hands, he was sent to Auschwitz where he died in 1942. Today, the surviving film company, still named Pathe’, is owned by the Jerome Seydoux family.
Within the film industry, Pathe’ is remembered as the company which in 1908 invented the newsreel, a short film shown to movie goers before the featured film. In addition to these shorts, Pathe’ issued a series of global travelogues, also shown in movie theaters along with the main feature film. Figure 19 is an image of a full sheet poster advertising one such travelogue featuring Yellowstone.
Although the name of the artist who designed this poster is not annotated on the image, the printer’s name is included in the image: the Otis Lithographic Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Otis printed posters for the movie industry mostly before the ‘talkies’; after it merged with Morgan Lithographic (also of Cleveland) in 1926, Otis ceased as a corporate entity.
Industry archives do not record the printing quantities for this poster. However, records from public auctions suggest a very limited number of these lithographs were produced.
An original copy of this poster can be found at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library.Create Date
June 2, 2026Update Date
June 2, 2026