Remembering David Gartler ’57, Vintage Poster Afficionado
David Alan Gartler ’57, age 90, of Chicago, IL, died peacefully on September 25th in the presence of his wife and sons, following decline related to Alzheimer’s and living for more than nine decades. Dave was enthralled by vintage posters, and in 1969, with his first wife Sandra, he started the gallery and custom frame shop Poster Plus in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. A 1975 Poster Plus exhibition of 1920s Chicago transit posters resurfaced now-iconic images from one of America’s great print advertising campaigns, and both the original posters and Poster Plus’s reproductions became popular with lovers of Chicago, the L, railroads, advertising design, and printmaking. Poster Plus grew to three Chicago locations, including one on Michigan Avenue, plus a paper restoration & conservation lab.
David was born July 8, 1935, in Milwaukee, WI, to parents Henry Gartler (1891–1950) and Sophie (Shon) Gartler (1895–1993). David graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1957 and served as a U.S. Army reservist in the 1950s. After college, he worked at Bankers Life Insurance and CNA Insurance in Chicago before starting Poster Plus.
Dave enjoyed tennis, art, travel (always scouring the world for vintage posters as he went), classical music, and the Green Bay Packers. He was a charter member of the American Historical Print Collectors Society and a founding member of the International Vintage Poster Dealers Association.
David is survived by his wife Beatriz Badikian Gartler, sister Miriam, sons Joshua (Shana Liberman) and Marc (Christine Newville Gartler), and grandchildren Oliver, Ash, and Ezri.
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