There were so many railway and London Transport posters in the Onslows catalogue, that I ran out of time on Friday to consider the rest. So, today, any other business.
The bulk of this is World War Two posters. Onslows usually have a fair selection and this sale is no different.
Clixby Watson, est. £100-150
The most interesting, for me at least, are a pair of Mount Evans posters.
Mount Evans, est. £200-250
Mount Evans, est. £100-150
The second one, along with the anonymous fuel poster before, are making an appearance for the second time this year. So it remains to be seen whether they will make their estimates or not.
Anonymous, est. £50-100
But I still like them both.
There are also an interesting set of posters by Heinz Kurth. This is the prime one in the listing.
Heinz Kurth, est. £50-100 (4)
Of Welsh interest, clearly. But I actually prefer the three subsidiaries, which are both striking and good.
Heinz Kurth, est. £50-100 (4)
Then there are lots of other ones which are clearly classic and of great interest to collectors, but aren’t necessarily great pieces of design (like Bateman cartoons about saving fuel, for example). Or like this.
Anonymous, est £100-150.
Now if that makes its estimate, I will eat my warm woolly socks. But I shall do so quite happily, because we’ve got a copy of it – don’t ask me why – which we got on eBay for less than a tenner. Actually that probably tells you why we’ve got it. But if anyone wants to pay £100+ for it, I am definitely open to offers.
Related to the World War Two material, there are also quite a few National Savings posters. Mr Crownfolio has pointed out that I keep omitting these from my lists of posters that have been collected, when quite a few of them do survive. He’s right, but I think I keep leaving them out because while they may be interesting pieces of social history, the vast majority aren’t actually good design.
Anonymous, c.1940, est. £40-50
J P Sayer, est. £50-70
It’s an interesting question as to why the National Savings didn’t pay the same close attention to design that the GPO or even HMSO did at the same time. But it’s not one I have a ready answer to – any suggestions? There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, and two of them are also in this sale.
Eric Fraser, est. £70-100
Myerscough Walker, est. £80-120
Although I’m not entirely convinced about the Myerscough Walker, but it’s still better than most.
What there isn’t – and it’s a rare contrast to almost every other selling emporium in Britain – is a plethora of coach posters being redistributed after the Morphets sale. Just a few of this type, which are not unpleasant.
Peter Andrews, est. £100-150
The rest is miscellaneous. I never knew that Schweppes once made cider, for example.
Anonymous, est. £300-400
And looking at that picture, I don’t think that Babycham was an entirely new idea, either.
But this miscellaneous category also contains what are to my mind two of the finest posters in the sale. They’re both by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis, and they’re both wonderful.
Clifford and Rosemary Ellis, 1935, est. £250-300.
Clifford and Rosemary Ellis, 1945, est £200-300
I covet both of these very much. Here’s the catalogue for the wallpaper exhibition for your further delectation.
This could be yours from Abebooks for a bit over £30. Cheaper than a poster, that’s for sure.