In the East Wing of the White House, many of history's most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America's charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies.
Historical accuracy was the most important part of my job as Lead Prop Graphic Artist. I was mainly responsible for creating graphics for Eleanor Roosevelt's storyline. To do this, I dove deep into her life, researching her speeches, writings, and character. I also studied printing techniques, designs of the time, advertisements and newspapers across the decade. This is perhaps my favorite part of my job - the research that goes into accurately representing the environment I help create.
To the left, these are well-wishing cards Eleanor received after leaving her job as a teacher.
Newspapers were a big part of this show, and the accuracy of both how they were printed and what they contained were extremely important. I oversaw a team of graphic designers from 2 - 4 at a time, and we studied real news stories of the period, fonts used, the style of advertisements, the style of layout, and treated black and white photos with grain.
Letterpress printing was the normal form of printing during Elenore's life. It remained in wide use for books and other uses until the second half of the 20th century. Letterpress is a relief printing process where raised surfaces are inked and pressed directly onto paper to create an impression. It was important to make all of the type and images imperfect while allowing all prints to reflect some form of human error. This is far from the perfect digital printing process of today.
Not many people know this, but Eleanore edited a monthly magazine aimed at middle-class parents called "Babies Just Babies". The first issue was released in October 1932 and the last in May 1933.
We had to create an interactive prop which mimicked the exact look of the magazine. This included a front and back cover and 6 interior magazine pages. Because of schedule changes, this had to be done at lightening speed. It had to be fully designed, approved by all departments, and printed in three days.
