How to use the database
Each item in the database corresponds to a poster held by the Special Collections Research Center at George Mason University and is described with ten different metadata elements, described below. Additionally, geographically located items are geo-tagged and can be viewed under Mapping the Posters.
Identifier Each identifier is a unique combination of a two-letter collection designation and a number. The collection designations indicate if the poster belongs to the Politics Series (PL), Culture and Science Series (CS), Film Series (FM), Art Exhibitions Series (AE), or Performing Arts Series (PA).
Title The poster's title or primary text.
Creator Any individual involved in the creation of the poster, including artist, photographer, or graphic designer.
Organization Any organization involved in the creation or distribution of the poster.
Date Created The date the poster was created. In some cases of uncertainty, the date is expressed as a range.
Extent The poster's dimensions, expressed in centimeters.
Description A brief description of the poster.
Subject These identifiers are adapted from the Library of Congress Subject Headings and indicate prominent themes in the poster. You can click on a given subject to see other posters with the same subject.
Medium A brief description of the type of poster.
Spatial Coverage Some posters either represent or were attached to a specific city or region in East Germany, which is indicated as the poster's Spatial Coverage. NB: Not all posters with Spatial Coverage are mapped (e.g., a poster that depicts the Berlin Wall would have 'Berlin' as its Spatial Coverage, but would not be mapped, because it was not specifically displayed or advertising an event in Berlin).