I really ought to be writing about the latest Great Central Railwayana catalogue, but that will have to wait for now, as my attention has been grabbed by a pair of rather fetching animals instead.
This delightful pig is being sold on eBay by the previously mentioned Postercollection.
It’s by Derrick Hass, it’s probably from the early 1960s and because it’s being sold by Postercollection it comes without linen on backside and is yours for a rather eye watering £198. Or they will apparently take an offer.
Meanwhile, I’ve never seen this somewhat bewildered sheep before, and I feel as though I should have, because it’s the work of Mount Evans.
He is included in a brand new book of public information posters from the National Archives, called Keep Britain Tidy
While I have your attention, there are a couple of interesting posters coming up at an auction in Nottingham on Saturday. Amongst the offerings are yet another Lander that I’ve never seen before, and which we would be bidding on were it not so a touch holed. (It’s estimated at £60-90, so may yet be worth your while)
Along with this Cornwall poster too, which we failed to get an auction, possibly Morphets, some time back and I still hanker after for its general levels of insanity.
Yours for a mere £40-60 if they’ve got their estimates right.
And finally, a question for you. Who’s doing the looking in this picture?
Seriously. The whole family is outside the window, so who’s inside looking at them? Granny? A voyeur? Or should I assume that there is a third child, some sulky teenager lurking inside with their copy of Jane Eyre? Answers on the usual electronic postcard below, please.
As you are on the subject of eye-watering prices for posters, did you see, also on eBay now, “British Railways Door to Door Container Service to and from Northern Ireland” in pretty poor condition, which might seem a bit steep at £35, but up for £350 !!
As for the Keep Britain Tidy book, I would’ve though it might be right up your street – the hidden gems of poster design that the government got their hands on. I would expect to see a mixture of coughs and sneezes, smoking sheep and pointing fingers of one form or another.
And on to your other posters – the Cornwall one does indeed look faintly bonkers – if you’re shouting you don’t want to be doing it through a trumpet really do you, and I guess the deserted beach suggests no-one has been listening anyway!
With the Woolacombe poster I think the view is from the roof terrace of what may be a hotel or some such, but it raises health and safety concerns with me – although the roof terrace has suitable guard-rail protection, the family appear to be perched on the top of a steep drop to the road below. That looks rather dangerous, or am I taking it too seriously……
I hadn’t seen that poster, but having now taken a look, you’d have to pay me £35 to get me to accept it, and even then I’d have second thoughts. eBay is increasingly the home of the delusional these days. I’m sure there are more out there if we cared to look.
And yes, I think that health and safety should be inspecting that hotel forthwith…
£240 for the Dew Drop (Off) Inn! A couple of bidders must have happy memories of “Britain’s best sands”.
Well yes indeed – although I think that’s a fairly average price for that kind of poster these days.
Is that what the building is/was called – “Dew Drop Inn” – interesting name! Is it still there?, I had a look on Google Streetview and couldn’t quite get the same view as the poster (probably a bit of artistic licence anyway, and there is a car park in view now), but also couldn’t work out what building we were looking from if it is still there.
Postercollection: “without linen on the backside” which is in fact “appreciated by museums and collectors alike”, no less! Wondered if anyone else had noticed that; and now I know that you have! Cheap at double the price I’d say!!
Yes because all that linen on the backside would undoubtedly reduce the value, wouldn’t you say?