To the Max

Right, this is a fleeting visit as time has run away with me this week, but you need to know that Bloomsbury have an auction, and it’s tomorrow.  The title is Railwayana including the collection of Michael Max, and it contains all manner of things, including nineteenth century Parliamentary reports on atmospheric railways and maps of Barry docks.  Fortunately for us, there are also a few posters.

Star exhibit if you are me is this Lander, which I swear I’ve never seen until now.

R M Lander North Wales British Railways poster
R M Lander, est £150-250

Star exhibit for everyone else is probably this.

McKNight Kauffer Great Western Devon poster 1932
McKnight Kauffer, 1932, est. £600-800

Beyond that, there are pictures of trains and pictures of places and I can’t really get excited about very much of it.  Although this is at least different, and I’m always a sucker for that 1950s Festival typeface anyway.

Harwich British Railways poster 1956
Anonymous, 1956, est. £150-200

I have been meaning for a while to have a wonder about Bloomsburys, because some posters seem to have been slipping through there at quite a low price, and I don’t know whether that’s them, or a sign of changing times in the market (yet again). But I’ll save that for their next poster sale, I think.

  • As far as Bloomsbury goes, I think its a bit of a lost soul in the poster auction world. Christies is up at the top with prices to match, Onslows seems to be known in the mid market, eBay at the bottom, with the Railwayana auctions as a side market for Railway Posters. Bloomsbury has a Buyers Premium at a similar level to Christies, heading towards 30% which must be enough to put some people off; doesn’t seem to have a consistent set of poster auctions at the same times of year, so it’s difficult to remember them; and not least because they seem to have variable sale titles as well. Some of their estimates do seem very steep as well, while some are sensible. All a bit of a mix really.
    It does mean that there are some bargains to be had though, even with 30% added on top!
    So, did you go for Lander’s North Wales?
    If not, you can have another one from me; it’s on my site now……………as part of my growing Lander selection.

  • Yes to all of that really. I’ve just had a quick run through the prices, and there are no real surprises there, although a fair number didn’t sell. Clearly everyone was actually there for the Parliamentary Reports.

    And no, we didn’t go for the Lander. I have his English Lakes on the wall, and I that takes up quite a lot of wallspace as it is.

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