Chicago Coloring Book

One forty-eight page 8½ x 11" book with twenty images to color. Each illustration is reproduced in a small, color version of the original artwork and as a full-page black line drawing.

The Chicago coloring book features 20 line drawings from early 20th century poster art. Coloring pages are blank on the back so they can be cut out and displayed. Click on the small picture to see an interior page.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Chicago Transit Authority hired many talented graphic artists to create posters featuring parks, beaches, museums, universities, and other interesting locations inside and outside the Chicago city limits. These posters encouraged people to use public transit—called the elevated lines or ‘L’—to travel to these destinations. The posters rarely depicted the ‘L’ itself; instead they displayed colorful and exciting images of buildings, cultural events, and outdoor activities.

Full-color reproductions of twenty of these posters are printed on the inside front and back covers of this coloring book, and line drawings based on the posters are included so that you can color them in. When you fill in the drawings, you might want to copy the original colors, or you might choose your own color combinations. We’ve left the last three pages of the book blank so that you can create pictures of your own. Can you draw and color your favorite museum, park, or building?

All of the posters included in this coloring book are from the collection of Poster Plus Publications, which offers the most extensive selection of vintage Chicago poster art ever reproduced.

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