Educational Pack Distributed Public Relations by Aramco (1 results)

An unused example of a collection of promotional materials distributed by Aramco to schools and graduates in the US. The lively posters explore the history of Saudi Arabia and the company's operations, each illustrated with photographs of historical figures (including T. E. Lawrence), company personnel and oil wells, and Saudi architecture. Publication of the first instalment of Aramco World in November 1949 marked the beginning of a two-decade publicity blitz emphasizing Aramco's paternalism, during which its New York publicity department "turned into a vehicle for production and dissemination of the firm-as-development-mission" (Vitalis, p. 123). This pack is a close relative of the You Discover Saudi Arabia promotional kit that was circulated by Aramco in the 1960s and 1970s and contained the same group of posters. We have not, however, traced another example of this particular arrangement. Robert Vitalis, America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier, 2009. Comprising: 24 illustrated posters (560 x 430 mm), printed one side only and folding away to 280 x 215 mm, 7 on coloured paper; 12-page Study Guide for "You Discover Saudi Arabia", printed on yellow paper and hole-punched as issued; original wraparound band, printed with a greeting from the Public Relations Department of Aramco. One poster slightly oversize and creased at edge, wraparound band with couple of small tears: a fine example.…