Electric skin

Rafskinna was an innovative electric „book“ that appeared annually in a storefront in the center of Reykjavík in the middle of the twentieth century, where advertisements were automatically exposed to the public. Gunnar Bachmann was Rafskinnu's promoter, who showed hand-drawn advertising posters by Tryggva Magnússon and Jón Kristinsson, with advertisements for diverse Icelandic companies. The work revives this visual story by collecting the posters in a book and shedding light on Rafskinn as an important part of Icelandic advertising culture. In doing so, the book provides an insight into the craftsmanship and visual expression of the advertisements and preserves the memory of the entrepreneur and the artists in a new way.

Rafskinna was an innovative mechanical “book” that appeared otherwise in a shop window in downtown Reykjavík in the mid-twentieth century, where advertisements flipped automatically before the eyes of the public. Initiated by Gunnar Bachmann, Rafskinna featured hand-drawn advertising posts by Tryggvi Magnússon and Jón Kristinsson, promoting a wide range of Icelandic companies. This work reviews that visual history by collecting the posters into a book and highlighting Rafskinna as an important part of Icelandic advertising culture. In doing so, the book offers into the craftmanship and visual expression of the evidence of the competition, what and visual expression of the experience of the experience in the industry, what was new.

Photos: Claudio Parada Nunes