So it’s back to work after the birthday festivities, which today means a brief round-up of eBay and auction news. Such as there is.
Thebasement101 seems to have an almost inexhaustible stock of slightly obscure London Transport posters backed on linen. He has put another three up for sale this week, of which my favourite is this Victor Galbraith owl from 1960.
Although I do not like it with £99 worth of like. I must research Victor Galbraith properly one day, because the few bits of his work I’ve seen I always enjoy. But I’m not even going to look today, as who knows where it will end up and I have other things which have to be done. But if anyone out there knows something, please do get in touch.
Mr Basement also has the two posters below, by Stella Marsden and Maurice Wilson respectively.
If you prefer railway posters and steam trains (is this the Quad Royal demographic? I’m not sure) then there is also this Studio Seven piece, which is quite good if you do want a piece of 1960s text about steam trains. And a lot cheaper than £99.
Elsewhere on eBay, two conundrums. Exhibit A is undoubtedly an interesting and very rare survival of some World War Two propaganda that is also commercial advertising. But it’s the picture that’s the problem.
Because at first glance it could easily be mistaken for a pro-Nazi poster. Which is an interesting reminder that context is all; I am sure that no one in an art shop in 1942 would have thought that way. But which makes me feel that it belongs in the context of a museum. Or am I being too sensitive here?
Exhibit B is only really a conundrum in the sense that I am forced to wonder who on earth thinks it is worth that money? Yes it is a McKnight Kauffer poster, but it is a 1973 reprint for the V&A with, frankly, not very nice lettering added.
If that is worth £159, I am a stick. It’s not even ‘Must-have’ as the seller suggests in the title. Really.
The rest of this post is a slightly sorrowful litany of Things We Have Missed. Starting with this Barbara Jones book. Now the seller didn’t do themselves any favours -here’s their photo.
And here’s the cover scanned rather than photographed in infra red.
But even so, I would have expected it to go for a bit more than just £7 when it goes on Abebooks for between £40 and £50. (To my chagrin we put a stupidly low bid on it because we’ve already got one, and now I feel foolish).
And finally, this.
A collection of posters, Keep Britain Tidy, Henry Moore Exhibition, Heath Robinson posters etc
That’s all the lot description said, and it caused a mad panic here at Crownfolio Towers, because the email alert arrived on the day of the auction. I do know that it had one of these in.
And also, possibly, a 10 x 15 version of one of these.
Along with a couple more Keep Britain Tidy posters that I can’t trace. But more than that I will never know, because it went for £10 over our top bid. I can, just about, live with that, because we hadn’t seen the condition or anything. But I would still love to know what the posters were, so if any of you lot bought them, can you send the photos over? I promise I won’t be too bitter.