Ikonographia Archive provides a unique lens into American and international popular culture, showcasing the work of illustrators, photographers, and designers, focusing on 20th-century advertisements.
Our site includes three categories—Stories, Products, and Archive Pages—designed to cater to diverse interests.
Story is the core module of Ikonographia, featuring a curated collection of images on a topic, along with historical context and text transcripts.
Products can be purchased as high-resolution digital files or fine-art prints, with well-organized pages for a seamless shopping experience.
Archive Pages showcase collections on specific topics, emphasizing elements like illustration, photography, design, and advertising.
To give you an idea of what you can find in Ikonographia and to help you navigate the contents, we provide a preview of the most interesting topics.
New York City’s Art Deco Interiors
Explore New York City’s Art Deco during the 1920s and 1930s, a movement influenced by global decorative arts trends promoting innovative designs.
Ikonographia focuses on the lavishly decorated building’s interiors, including lobbies, elevators, mailboxes, chandeliers, ceiling decorations, and mosaics. Once completed, the archive will feature more than fifty buildings.
Bugatti
Bugatti, an iconic French car manufacturer, was renowned for its race cars, and its elegant and innovative sports sedans, culminating in the groundbreaking Type 57 Atlantic, designed by Jean Bugatti.
Ikonographia proudly presents a gallery featuring the most iconic vintage Bugatti models, complemented by splendid images captured by Roberto Bigano. We also showcase factory designs, catalogs, posters, historic photographs, and an exclusive reportage about the gathering for the brand’s centenary, “The Bugatti International Meeting 2009.”
Bugatti Automobili
Experience the Bugatti Automobili legacy through the lens of Roberto Bigano, the exclusive photographer of Bugatti in the 1990s
The Ikonographia archive chronicles the company’s short-lasting story, starting with the construction of the renowned “Fabbrica Blu.” It details the development of the EB110 and its various versions, from the epowood maquette with covered rear wheels to the prototype, culminating in the Supersport and the EB112. Exclusive interviews with Romano Artioli and architect Benedini further enhance the archive.
‘High Society 1920,’ and the work of Anne Fish
Let’s take a journey back in time with the book ‘High Society 1920,’ a captivating pictorial guide that offers a unique insight into the lifestyle of the US upper class during the 1910s and 1920s.
It is like a snapshot of that era, a time capsule of what high society was like back then, as seen through the eyes of an outstanding cartoonist, Anne Harriet Fish, best known as FISH.
Ikonographia showcases a wide selection of her unmistakable works for books, editorials, and advertisements.
Erté
Erté is perhaps the most famous and elegant fashion designer, who captures the spirit of Art Deco, of which he was a forerunner. He was also a fashion trendsetter for at least twenty years, thanks to the two hundred covers for Harper’s Bazaar.
Ikonographia proudly presents a selection of his covers and double-page editorials that are exceptionally rare to find on the web.
The Coca-Cola history through advertisements
Explore the Coca-Cola History through advertisements, starting from its origins as a medicinal product, to the creation of the beverage, which later became America’s most popular fountain drink. The story unfolds with Coca-Cola sales skyrocketing from one million a year in 1890 to an astonishing one hundred million in 1900, until it became the iconic brand we know today.
Upon completion, the Ikonographia archive will house hundreds of digitally restored files, ensuring the originals’ feel and detail are faithfully maintained.
Portfolio and Flair Magazine
In 1950, two new magazines were published. Both were highly innovative.
The first was Portfolio, by Alexei Brodovitch, the Art Director of Harper’s Bazaar. The second one was Flair by Fleur Cowles.
Both were produced without budget limits, and both ceased publication after only one year because of the cost of production.
Yet, their influence on the publishing world was profound and enduring.
Ikonographia showcases the best content selected from the complete run of the two magazines, in seamless double pages.
This content, at this quality level, is virtually exclusive to the web.
The Old and New Testament Ivory Carvings
The Salerno Ivories, the enigmatic ivory carvings collection from Amalfi, from the 11th or 12th century, depict narrative scenes from both the Old and New Testaments.
The collection is fascinating but also shrouded in mystery. Its provenance, or origin, is an enigma.
The collection showcases the almost complete collection of the Old and New Testaments.
The Iron Mask
Embark on a journey back to 1577, when the Tyrolese Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg, later Holy Roman Emperor, began amassing a diverse collection of art and wonders at his Ambras Castle. This collection includes armor owned by many famous personalities from both his era and previous centuries.
Step into the Ikonographia archive, where an impressive selection of images, including the unbelievable series of anthropomorphic masks, will leave you in awe.
Plastic Girls. Evolution of style through Mannequins.
Ikonographia is proud to present “Plastic Girls,” a remarkable project by Italian photographer Roberto Bigano that spans over forty years. This work documents the evolution of style and fashion through mannequins and shop windows.
The complete collection, once finished, will cover the years from 1978 to the present and will feature hundreds of images.
Vintage Advertisement
Vintage ads are one of Ikonographia’s strong points.
You’ll find a vast and diverse range of interesting ads in our stories and archives, from famous but common ones to scarce ones.
For example.
The J.C. Leyendecker Kids for Kellogg’s Ads of the 1910s.
The elegant Art Deco Ads of the 1920s.
The British Dunlop Ads of the 1930s.
The American Streamlined Trains. Striking Ads of the 1940s.
The Cadillac World War II ads.
The Hanes ads of the 1950s by Bobri.
The iconic Volkswagen ads of the 1960s,
The American Women series
The American Women in Illustration and Advertising is our latest ambitious and challenging project, analyzing how the female figure has been depicted in advertising over the decades.
We start with the “Gibson Girls” by Charles Dana Gibson. This series spanned approximately thirty years, beginning in the late 19th century.
Following the ‘Gibson Girls’, we will showcase the immensely popular ‘American Girls ‘ series by Harrison Fisher. This series, which captivated the nation, was immensely popular.
We will then explore the “Women of Marlboro” by Bolegard.
The “Modern Women” featured in the Pepsi-Cola campaign with the tagline “Refreshes without filling.”
The “Sophisticated Women” series by Charles of the Ritz and Dorothy Gray.
The working women of Du Barry.
The gossiping high-society ladies of the 1920s, as depicted by Barbara Shermund.
The “elastic girls” from Jantzen, and more.
Incoming Projects
We are adding new stories and archive pages about social and fashion trends, highlighting their evolution. Examples include the evolution of hat fashions over the decades, forecasting the future, and the development of television, starting with unbelievable ads from the thirties.