Illustrator Zara Picken has spent over a decade building an extraordinary collection of mid-20th century illustrated ephemera that serves as both a visual time capsule and educational resource. Her Modern Illustration Archive, which began as a personal hobby and evolved into a comprehensive Instagram account and database, showcases thousands of items including matchbox labels, poster stamps, leaflets, bookmarks, and advertising materials from 1950 to 1975.
Like many artists, Picken showed an early aptitude for drawing, but what set her apart was her lifelong passion for collecting illustrated objects. "As a child, I was something of a magpie," she explains. "I'd collect stickers, comics, free postcards from the cinema." This collecting instinct remained dormant until her art foundation course, where she discovered illustration as a medium for "creating a single image to tell a whole story." Her formal studies at Bristol eventually merged with her collecting passion to create the archive that exists today.
The collection's origin story began on Christmas Day 2009 when Picken discovered a set of 1960s matchbox labels in a Prague antique shop. As a recent graduate working primarily on editorial commissions, she immediately recognized the connection between these miniature designs and her own practice. "I felt a clear parallel between my practice and these tiny designs – strong concepts expressed through bold, simple forms," she recalls. This serendipitous find inspired her to start a blog focused on mid-century design, which she later transformed into the Instagram account that serves as the archive's primary platform today.
Picken's collection highlights a transformative period when illustration emerged as a vital form of mass communication. According to her research, this era marked a significant shift from conservative pre-war styles toward greater creative autonomy and modernist principles. "So much of the work from this era is playful, stylish and full of personality," she notes. "Despite printing constraints, artists still found ways to create illustrations full of wit and charm." The period's characteristic optimism and embrace of individual character resulted in vibrant designs that continue to influence contemporary visual culture.
The archive reveals how mid-20th century illustration techniques remain deeply embedded in today's design landscape. Picken identifies several stylistic elements that originated during this period and persist in modern branding and marketing: limited color palettes, brand mascots, playful abstraction, and the creation of anthropomorphic objects or shapes. "You see these approaches now on packaging, in advertising, on apps and in editorial work," she observes. The influence is so pervasive that "even illustrators who've never seen these originals are working in traditions these artists established."
Despite its lasting impact, much of the illustrated work from this defining period has been largely overlooked by cultural historians. Picken argues that traditional art historical narratives focus primarily on graphic design or poster art, which "only tell part of the story" of visual communication during this era. Many of the illustrators who established modern visual styles remain unrecognized, their contributions to contemporary design aesthetics forgotten or misattributed.
Over seven years of dedicated collecting, Picken has transformed her personal passion into an extensive open-source educational resource. Her methods involve countless hours "trawling eBay and flea markets for old cards, beer mats and booklets," building a collection that now serves illustrators, designers, students, and universities. The archive has grown beyond its Instagram origins to include a comprehensive website with a searchable database designed specifically for academic and professional research.
The collection features work from both renowned and anonymous artists of the period. Notable pieces include Tadashi Ohashi's 1957 Meiji 'Milk Chocolate Deluxe' matchbox label, Frans Mettes' circa 1955 Hartevelt Citroen matchbox design, and Patrick Tilley's 1955 Hartleys Jelly display card. The archive also preserves work from Jill McDonald for Puffin Books, various British Rail promotional materials, and international pieces like Italian Galbani cheese labels and Japanese lottery tickets, demonstrating the global reach of this design movement.
Picken's mission extends beyond mere preservation to active education and cultural rebalancing. She views the archive as a tool for "connecting the past with how we understand illustration today," helping contemporary practitioners understand the historical foundations of their craft. Her upcoming book project will focus specifically on character illustration from the archive, examining "the emergence of personality during this era through stylized figures and distinctive approaches."
The Modern Illustration Archive represents more than a nostalgic collection; it serves as a bridge between past and present visual communication. Through her meticulous documentation and research, Picken has created a resource that not only celebrates forgotten artists and their contributions but also provides contemporary creatives with a deeper understanding of their medium's evolution. As she continues to expand the collection, her work helps ensure that this defining period in illustration history receives the recognition and study it deserves.
