eBay Archives - Page 8 of 14

Buy, Buy, Sell, Buy

auctions, eBay

There are a lot of posters about at the moment; it’s only Monday morning and I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Not only have there just been the Christies and Onslows sales, but there’s also quite a bit coming up on eBay too. I’d like to sum it up in some kind of executive summary of the market at the moment, but however hard I try, this eludes me. So I’m afraid you’ll just have to bear with me as we sift through the evidence.

One feeling I have is that prices, and more importantly expected prices, are going up. Take these eBay items, for example. There’s a signed, recent, Tom Eckersley poster for £295, which has to be more than even a gallery would charge for it.

In an interesting take on eBay selling strategies, this was previously on offer for a £175 Buy It Now, but when it failed to sell, they relisted it and upped the price.

Even more excitable is the seller of this 1935 GPO Schools poster by John Armstrong, for sale for a rather steep $2,950 Buy It Now.

He is also accepting Best Offers, as he explains in rather breathless red text on his listing.

The highest offer of the 3 that I have received is $ 2,155 I will let it go to the next offer of $ 2,200.

While I know that this is a classic poster reproduced in all sorts of texts, I don’t actually like it very much and so I am able to resist this offer, or indeed pretty much any kind of offer which didn’t involve giving it to me for free.

These Shell posters, even though they are a full set of the highly-desirable Trees, by the highly-desirable SR Badmin, are surely up at the top end of the value range too at £350.

And I say this with some confidence, given that we have just got four of the Roads of Britain in this series for the grand sum of £15, including (I have said this before, and I will say it again) my favourite Shell educational poster ever, the Ridgeway by David Gentleman.

This coach poster, too, is probably also overpriced at £75 – although it’s very fashionably retro and so probably would go for much more than its £75 asking price in the right gallery.

Expensive doesn’t just apply to posters, either. This lovely little booklet with illustrations by Barbara Jones has a starting price of £90.

I begrudge this price a bit less though; it’s a rare book, published in just after the war and on that very contemporary subject of good design in the home. Having said all that, you can also find it online for just £60, so maybe it is a bit over-priced too.

The Christies auction didn’t come cheap either. These two posters were the stars of the show, both dramatically exceeding their estimates.

The Alexeieff above went for £34,850 (est. £15-20,000) while the McKnight Kauffer Underground poster sold for £27,500 (est. £8-12,000).

The Kauffer poster is particularly interesting, because a copy also turned up in the Swann Galleries auction a few weeks before, where it went for £20,580, so the price wasn’t just a flash in the pan (or even a flash from the fist).

As for the Christies’ auction as a whole, my initial reaction was that the prices seemed steep; but when I took a closer look, most sales were within the range of the estimates. What this means, I don’t know (and would love to have anyone else’s thoughts on the matter). My guess would be that some posters are getting more expensive, and that Christies are now, with their minimum lot policies, concentrating on these. There may also be psychology involved, though, too; if there’s nothing priced at £150 or even £250 in an auction, does it make the high prices seem more reasonable? To some people at least, if not me.

But fear not bargain hunters, because there are still cheap posters on eBay, even cheap underground posters. These ducks, for example, are starting at just £29.99, and are linen backed to boot.

They’re by Richard Barrett Talbot Kelly and date from 1948, while this 1923 MacDonald Gill London Transport map of Barrie’s Kensington Gardens is even cheaper at £25, although it hasn’t reached its reserve at that price, so may not be as cheap as it first appears.

Elsewhere – in the U.S. to be precise – this 1947 London Transport Central Line extension poster by Hans Schleger/Zero is perhaps better described as reasonable at £148 rather than cheap. But it is wonderful enough to justify the price.

Although if you do want a cheap Zero poster, that’s on offer as well; this British Railways museum poster from the early 1960s is a bit more crumpled, but then it is on with a starting price of only £2.99.

If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, perhaps you might like this Daphne Padden Post Office Savings Bank poster – one of my favourites – currently still at its starting price of £10.

Once again, eBay also offers me the opportunity of pointing out how badly designed most National Savings posters are. This is also a savings poster, and it has an owl on too, but that’s all it has in common with the one above.

It, however is priced at £49.99. I have nothing more to say on the matter.

All that remains is the Onslows sale, which seemed to be neither cheap nor expensive, so I’d be interested in hearing anyone else’s thoughts, or indeed about any bargains you may have bought. But it is worth remembering that they do take offers on unsold lots (until 18th June) so a second look at the online catalogue might prove worth your while.

Queer Things

eBay

Only last week I was complaining that there really weren’t enough British food posters when this arrived through the post. I’d entirely forgotten than we’d bought it from eBay.

Although it’s only tangentially about food, and quite informatively prosaic to boot, I still rather like it. So much so that I would have hung it on the kitchen wall, were it not for the fact that there’s no more space. And the little hanger at the top of the metal bar (it’s got metal strips at the top and bottom just like a Shell educational poster) fell off when I photographed it. Never mind.

Another recent purchase was this splendidly information-free poster.

Thanks to the interweb, I am able to tell you that it is a British Railway poster by Myers (whose signature is just about visible bottom right), it dates from the 1950s, and it also existed with text too (image from the NMSI collection).

All of which leaves me with a couple of questions. Firstly, why are there two versions? Was the typeless one designed to go on the railway aficionado’s wall, and sold as such? Ours isn’t the only one, because the NRM have a copy too so there must have been a plan, even if I’m not quite sure what it was.

But it’s never come up on sale as far as I can tell. Faster All Along The Line with its title on has been sold a couple of times at auction, for £280-300, at Onslows and Morphets. But is it worth more or less with type? I have no idea – does anyone else?

Finally, we bought this simply because it existed, and so I am sharing it with you for exactly the same reason.

It’s from 1938 and that’s all I know. Although I may have to go on an expedition one day to see if any or all of these still exist.

Ham-fish-ted

designers, eBay

We didn’t just buy this for the pun potential, honestly.

Although that was quite a big part of why we did. It is, of course, another lovely Daphne Padden for P&O, from the S S Empire Fowey in 1959.

Along with it came this, which is the menu for what looks like the children’s party on the same day.

I can’t see too many modern children going for the Petit Bouchee of Sweetbreads at the start, although the jellies, celebration cake and lemonade are pretty timeless. Sadly, this one isn’t signed, so if anyone has any ideas about who might have designed this – particularly the determined ship’s cat, do get in touch. This may well become Small Crownfolio’s party invitation later this year.

In addition to being wonderful though, this also turns out to be a window into a bit of social history that I didn’t even know existed. It was sold on eBay as a cruise ship menu; which it sort of is, but at the same time isn’t.

The design was certainly produced for a cruise ship – it was used on the SS Arcadia in 1957, and probably also elsewhere. But the S S Empire Fowey wasn’t going cruising in 1959. It was a troopship, operated by P&O but transporting British soldiers (and their families, hence the children’s menu) to postings in Cyprus, Aden and elsewhere. Apparently there was even school provided for the children aboard, as the journeys could last up to a month.

The Empire Fowey herself had a fascinating life – she began life as a German liner, was taken over as a troop transport and then gunship. But in 1945, with the Allied victory, she was taken by the British as part of the war reparations, at which point she became a troop ship, but operated by P&O. Then, in 1960, once air travel was becoming the norm for army postings, she was sold to a Pakistani cruise firm, who used her to take pilgrims to Mecca, until she was finally scrapped in 1976.

The Fowey’s odd status, half cruise ship, half transport ship explains a couple of things. Like the fact that the menu has no printing on the back (unlike the others we have for ‘real’ cruises which have a design on the back as well). And the way that the menu itself isn’t as lavish as I’d come to expect from P&O in the fifties. Still, it’s rather nice to think that the army and its families got a small taste of the cruising life, even if it was just for one night only.

And f any of this has whetted your appetite for troopships, menus or even indeed sweetbreads, another near-identical set is available on eBay from the same seller.

Ceci n’est pas un crease

eBay

Everyone has spent their weekend listing posters on eBay, it seems. Well, everyone except me. But there is a something for almost every taste out there this morning.

Quite a bit of it is, however, somewhat battered. Like this Tom Purvis poster, for example.

This series has been mentioned on here before, as an example of the shift in Shell advertising from technical to natural. Which it is, along with being by Tom Purvis. So I really ought to like it. But I don’t, not even a little bit.

Mind you, it’s in better condition than the next exhibit, this whole collection of posters in the States, apparently discovered in an attic in 1967.

The three above are the classics, but my favourite has to be this one.

In my head, I am now back in Manchester, to a soundtrack of the Smiths. And I’ve never seen that poster before either, so it’s doubly pleasing.

These are all a bit spotted and chewed, but there are other ways to mistreat posters.

My eyes, my eyes. It’s Out and About: Country Houses by Clive Gardiner from 1951, in case you can’t tell. Sadly there are several in this state up for sale, including Literary London by Sheila Robinson.

Although the listings beg more questions than they answer.

Unfortunately this poster has been stored wrapped in an obscure way, which has left it too unravel as shown.
However there are no creases caused by this, so once framed or flattened out it will look good as new.

No, there are creases, I can see them. Which leads me to suggest that it will take more than flattening to sort this out.

As is all the fashion these days, they’re all listed for £99, which I don’t really think they’re worth in this condition. While the Peter Roberson below wouldn’t be worth that if if were flat, mounted on linen and offering to make me a cup of coffee every morning.

Well, perhaps for the coffee.

There have also been a rash of Shell Educational posters turning up too. A complete set of S R Badmin’s monthly Guide to Trees is available for the rather eyewatering sum of £350.

Which compares rather unfavourably with both the full series of John Leigh Pemberton’s Life In… posters at just £1.99 each

and also these six County posters, which have an even lower starting price of £1.50.

I wish I knew, for no other reason than my own satisfaction, what Shell educational posters were really worth. I’ve seen auction houses really talk them up (although not always manage to sell them) while other auction houses won’t even take them these days. So I shall watch these sales with interest and see if I can draw any conclusions.

Finally, someone other than us is selling Daphne Padden posters. So if you’ve missed something you liked, here’s another bite at the cherry.

These ones are also signed in pencil, as were some of the ones that we bought from her estate sale, so I wonder whether they too came from her own collection. Perhaps I’ll email and ask.

Sale Number

eBay

It’s gone a bit quieter on eBay now, which is a bit of a relief, at least it is here at Crownfolio Towers because we’ve spent a bit too much recently. Nonetheless, there are still a few things worth reporting. Like this, which is one of the linen-backed London Transport posters I wrote about a while back.

It’s by Beath, it’s from 1936 and it is currently bid-free at £14.99. Now I rather like these, as perhaps rather un-English examples of good typography. But it would seem from the lack of other interest that I am perhaps alone in this. Never mind, I still might get ours framed one day.

While in the States, an unusually early poster has turned up.

Dating from 1918, it’s by Emilio Tafani and is also mounted on linen, although a little battered. And yes, I have seen the carpet.

Back in this country, the Honey Monster would like you to go skiing.

Not Studio Seven’s finest hour really.

I know nothing at all about these but I rather think I need to.

The listing is reasonably informative, and also has enough pictures to make me want them very badly.

But at £650 for the set, I can’t exactly justify it. Does anyone know any more about the history or who the artists are though? Particularly that Cooks for fruit illustration above.

There’s a bit more interest in an auction in Norfolk next week. Only a bit though as several of the posters are Of Railway Interest, like this wartime morale-booster which has a very reasonable estimate of £100-120.

Although I do find myself quite liking this pre-war design (also est £100-120).

But the most interesting, to my mind at least, is this (no estimate given).

This is partly because it’s not a railway poster but produced by the British Travel and Tourism Authority, but also because it’s by Xenia, who I’ve never come across in any other context. And it’s brilliantly mid-50s. But we’ve got one already, so it’s all yours if you want it.

Spring Madness

eBay

We’re all broke and there’s a massive recession, it should all be doom and gloom. Except in eBay, it seems, where hope springs eternal in springtime and posters are going for silly prices. Even ours.

I wasn’t planning on revisiting our own selling fiesta again, but the results have been startling enough to deserve comment. Furthermore, I also owe at least one eBay seller an apology. Having taken the mickey out of someone with the temerity to put one of the black and white Britain tourist posters on at £49.99, we then went on to sell one for £108.

I know. You may consider me well and truly astounded.

But what makes this worth telling you about is that it’s almost a scientific test of the market. Because we’ve tried to sell these posters on eBay at least twice before in the last three or four years. And we’ve had no takers at all, even when we put them on at 99p (yes, really). Now, suddenly, they’re worth £30 on average, and some much more. That’s quite a change, not only in value it seems to me but also in sentiment. As though vintage posters are now established in people’s minds as valuable objects, so that even posters like these, which are very much on the fringes of what is usually collected, are seen as worth buying.

Quite apart from the fact that this unexpected bounty allows us to buy new posters (of which more later), it also proves something which I’ve been feeling for a while, which is that eBay is generally on the up. This is a real contrast to my perception of the auctions where, at best, prices are static but in many cases seem to be declining.

This isn’t just a question of prices alone, people also seem to be willing to trust much higher-quality posters, that might previously have gone to an auction house, to the rough and tumble of eBay. Like these two classic (that’s classic in the sense that lots of other people would be prepared to spend good money on them rather than classic I actually like them) railway posters, on sale in the States.

They’re both finishing in a couple of hours, but I thought worth pointing out anyway, as they’re good examples of the trend.

Also across the Atlantic, another example of what I was asking about the other day, railway posters printed specifically for the US tourist market.

It’s not my favourite kind of image (in fact it reminds me of the Ladybird Peter and Jane books more than anything else) but it is very interesting in that it’s a post-war example of this kind of publicity, which is the first I’ve come across. More research clearly needed, although possibly not by me.

Back in the UK, this really lovely Underground poster by Clive Gardener from 1936 came up on a Buy It Now for £150.

And then it went very quickly. I’m not surprised.

Worthydownbookstore have also put some more posters up as Buy It Nows too. Now all labelled as post-WW2, so perhaps they’ve been reading this. Hello, if you are. I’m also pleased to report that they do, as they say they will on their listings, accept reasonable offers. So we spent some of our eBay gains on this Fitton.

And, just because I can, here it is on display at Britain Can Make It in 1947.

Finally, a game. It’s called Spot the Padden.

The winner may well get a bargain, as the whole lot currently stands at £1.04. Mind you, they do also get a lot of paintings of birds and miscellaneous wildlife too. Proof that not everything produced by P&O in the 1960s was design gold.