Every so often I complain that Mr Crownfolio and I haven’t bought anything for ages, but I always forget that these things come in waves. And this week just such a wave has come crashing in to shore.
I’ve already mentioned the Morecambe poster, but the main interest is two lots of posters that were up for sale at a general auction in Cambridgeshire. Lot one consisted of this Eckersley/Lombers masterpiece from the early years of WW2.
Twice.
Which is quite surprising, as I’ve only been able to track it down at auction once before (Onslows, 2004, fact fans). So I think it’s probably fairly rare. The second one clearly needs a bit of tlc, but I think it will be worth it.
The second lot was more of a rag-bag. People can do terrible things to posters sometimes, just look at what has happened to this Lewitt-Him Vegetabull.
But the two other posters that always, it seems, come together with it – a second Lewitt Him and James Fitton’s Turn Over a New Leaf are untampered with, I’m pleased to say.
I’m assuming that they always end up in a group of three because they’re all about the same date, but maybe it’s because they’re all very good pieces of design which appeal to a certain sort of person. Like me, for example.
We now have three copies of the James Fitton, which even I can see is probably too many, and a bit like hoarding food in an emergency.
A couple of the other posters have been mounted on board. In the case of this militant bread poster, that’s a bit of a shame.
Funnily enough I don’t feel too much sorrow over the state of this one.
Pleasingly, there were some other wartime posters in the lot which hadn’t seen quite so much service. Whoever collected them clearly had a thing about cod liver oil.
I also rather like this one, although interestingly it doesn’t have all of the usual HMSO/Ministry of Fuel information printed along the bottom.
I wonder if this was actually issued by the gas companies themselves, especially as it’s using their trademark in the form of Mr Therm. But with nothing written on the poster, that can only ever be a theory.
This, meanwhile, is not quite as exciting.
But I’ve saved you the oddest poster for last. It’s probably also the least valuable, because it’s hand made, collaged out of mostly bits of I don’t know what stuck onto card.
Except, strange to relate, we do know where some of the bits came from, as we’ve had this 1930s poster for a while now.
Full marks for recyling there.
Clearly we now have far too many posters, and some of these are going to have to be sold. But they’re not posh enough for Christies, which means I really don’t know where they should go. This is a problem that I will be returning to next week. But if in the meantime you have any thoughts on the matter, please do put them in the box below.