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eBay, other

Apologies in advance if this post ends up being a bit like the parish newsletter today, but there are a few things I’d to tell you about, even though they aren’t entirely related. So bear with me, and the flower rota will be at the end.

Firstly and also excitingly, the BPMA have also got in contact with Pieter Huveneers, and he is going to answer some questions on their blog in January. So if there’s anything you’d like to ask him about poster design, the GPO or being a design guru in Australia, now is your chance. All the details are on their blog.

The artwork above with the bite taken out of it is from their collections, as is the poster below.

This is of course a poster announcing the arrival of a medium – television – which would in the end kill the poster itself stone dead. Still, Huveneers wasn’t to know.

While I’m on the subject of the BPMA, they are once again selling lovely poster Christmas cards, including this lovely Hass.

But there are a whole range of designs, quite a few of which have already featured on Quad Royal before now, and you may find them here.

Most of the rest of our parish consists, as ever, of eBay. In summary, there are some nice posters out there; however people mostly want rather larger sums of money for them than we – along with I suspect most of the rest of the parishioners – are prepared to pay. With that in mind, here’s the best of the bunch.

Your starter is a lovely Dorrit Dekk, mounted on linen too. Starting price, £224-ish (it’s in America), although it doesn’t deserve that on the grounds of the foreshortened photography alone.

Another photography award goes to the seller of this Pye Radio poster, who has managed to photograph it looking like a giant billboard on the A4.

It is in fact only 74cm long, which probably also means that £49.99 is a fairly optimistic valuation.

All of which means that when both the above Guinness posters start at a slightly more reasonable £99, I am pleasantly surprised. The top one is, I think, by R Peppe and dates from 1962, although the listing doesn’t tell you any of that. The other one I have never seen before in my life, and all I can find out is that it might be by someone called E Hanna, so if anyone can enlighten me further about it, please do. Rather good, though, don’t you think?

Cheaper, and possibly even more fantastic still, are these two Australian emigration posters.

The listing (which in turn wins a prize for being one of the longest I have ever encountered) describes them as being possibly the work of Douglas Annand. A brief trawl through google leaves me unconvinced, but he did do this poster.

And also these rather great P&O Menu cards too (via this Australian blog).

Regardless of whether he did those other two posters, they are very still good. Even better, both auctions started at a thoroughly reasonable £9.99, but with bids already in I am expecting them to go higher.

Digression over, I can also tell you that it is possible to buy expensive posters in places other than eBay.

This GPO poster is up for auction by Poster Auctions International with an estimate of $400-600. I’m usually quite fond of this series of posters, but this one has to be one of the least appealing. So have this one as a palate cleanser instead.

There that’s better, isn’t it. All that remains a reminder that the Church Christmas Fair is this Saturday and Holy Communion is at the usual time of 11.30 on Sunday. See you all then.

Posters past

eBay

A while ago I posted, as did many other people, about the ghost posters of Notting Hill Gate, thanks to the wonderful photos taken by Mike Ashworth.

In the late 1950s, this tunnel, which ran between different lines at Notting Hill Gate tube station, was replaced by escalators and sealed up. What remained there for more than 60 years was a fantastic set of posters, a glimpse into what was really being advertised at the time.

What’s particularly fascinating is that they’re not all good. Of course there are some classics like Daphne Padden’s poster for Royal Blue coaches, but some of them are frankly quite average. Dial FLE 5000 for the Evening News.

The reason I’m reminding you about this is that a similar set of posters – only this time not stuck to any walls – have just been sold on eBay. There are seven of them, and it really does look like the contents of a pile given to the poster hangers at the start of the day.

Once again, there are some lovely pieces of design – my favourite is probably this Victor Galbraith image.

The LT Museum dates that to 1959, and my guess is that they are all from about the same period.

So far, all so wonderful, but there are also some decidedly average ones.

Some which can only be described as looking like newspaper ads magnified.

Along with a couple which aren’t even that interesting.

I have no idea where the set have come from, but I’m going to ask, so if I find out more I will let you know.

But they’re not just interesting as a cross-section, they also tell me, at least, something new.

All of these posters are 20″ x 30″, so Double Crown size, which was the standard advertising format of the period (if you want a full explanation of imperial poster sizes, Tom Eckersley will be your guide) Which is what you’d probably expect, given that, just like today, all kinds of companies advertised on the Tube network.

But two of the posters are for institutions – British Railways and London Transport – who usually used the 40″ x 25″ Double Royal poster for their advertising. That’s the size that posters on railway stations and on the outside of Tube stations always were, and that’s the size that most railway and London Transport posters are when they survive – take a look at any auction if you don’t believe me.

Except here we have two posters, one for the railways and one for London Transport itself, which don’t fit that format and instead have been designed to sit amongst all the other commercial advertising. Which surprised me, as I’d never really thought that they ever produced posters in this format.

Of course it makes complete sense when you do think about it, especially for London Transport who must have printed at least some Double Crown posters just to fill in any gaps which appeared in their commercial advertising spaces. Victor Galbraith’s elephant is probably doing that job on the tunnel walls above.

And even a cursory search on his name in the London Transport Museum archives produces other designs in a Double Crown size too, so while they might have been uncommon, they weren’t entirely unusual. Here’s another one from 1959.

But that BR and London Transport produced these posters is also not surprising because this point, the late 1950s, is the final heyday of the poster. This was an advertising medium of such importance that even British Railways, with its own poster sites in its own poster sizes, couldn’t afford not to be part of it. This wouldn’t last though, within a few years commercial television would have ended the dominance of the poster forever.

My Victor Galbraith search also brings up this wonderful bird, who is a Double Royal this time.

I wonder how the decisions were made as to which posters were chosen for which sizes. That, like so many other things, is something to find out more about one of these days. Unless there’s someone out there who knows already.

Continuation

auctions

So, time for another attempt at reaching the summit of the Onslows auction. There was certainly a fair amount left out of my last post. Not least this Lander poster, which I am contractually obliged to reproduce on the blog once every few months.

Lander (Eric dates unknown) The English Lakes, original poster printed for BR(LMR) by Waterlow
Eric Lander, est. £700-1,000

This time it gets in because of the rather juicy estimate. Perhaps Lander is now becoming the new Tom Eckersley, perhaps everyone wants their sitting-room to look just like mine. Who can tell.

Elsewhere, there is also this McKnight Kauffer, which is interesting because it’s not one which comes up very often in auctions or in books, and is also very fine in its Bloomsbury-ish kind of way.

E McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954) Now the pine-tree's waving top, original poster printed for London Transport by Vincent Brooks Day 1932
McKnight Kauffer, 1932, est. £200-300

It has a pair, or companion too.

E McKnight Kauffer (1890-1954) Look under the broad beech tree !, original poster printed for London Transport by Vincent Brooks Day 1932
McKnight Kauffer, 1932, est. £200-300

There are a couple of other unexpected London Transport productions as well, like this poster celebrating London’s Statues (which I assume was once one half of a pair poster).

George Chapman Statues, original poster printed for London Transport by W&S 1955 - 102 x 63 cm
George Chapman, 1955, est. £100-150.

I’ll be interested to see what that goes for, at least in comparison to the Henrion. They both have the same estimate, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the Henrion is a much better poster, even if it is slightly un-nerving to live with. Am I right though? There’s only one way to find out…

I also like this little Herry Perry too.

Heather (Herry)Perry (1993-1962) Dining Out Your Car original vintage poster printed for Green Line 1934
Herry Perry, 1934, est. £100-150.

While this Hans Unger is, I know, a railway poster, it feels more as though it belongs with this batch instead.

Hans Unger (1915-1975) Starlight Special, original poster printed for British Transport Commission by Waterlow 1960
Hans Unger, 1960, est. £70-100

Unger also designed this undated Ideal Home poster.

Hans Unger (1915-1975) Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibition Olympia, original poster printed by S H Benson
Hans Unger, est £50-100

But the main category which was left out of last week’s post is World War Two posters. As usual with Onslows, there is a good selection up for auction (there are also a smattering of First World War ones in there too but I can’t warm to them I’m afraid).

Probably the best-known of them is this Abram Games design.

Abram Games your britain fight for it now vintage WW2 poster 1942
Abram Games, 1942, est £700-1,000

‘Your Britain – Fight For It Now’ is one of the most famous series of posters produced during World War Two, and are worthy of a blog post all to themselves one of these days, because their fame and constant reproduction gives a slightly misleading view of British propaganda during the war. But that’s another story for another day.

They also have an air of glamour about them for having been banned, as the Onslows catalogue relates:

Along with two other similar posters by Games this poster design was criticised by the War Office and withdrawn after initial distribution to the Army and display at the Harrod’s poster exhibition . This is a rare poster and is the only copy we have offered for sale.

Now I had always been under the impression (and have posted accordingly on here) that it was only one of Games three posters, that of Finsbury Health Centre below, which had been banned.

Allegedly Churchill objected to the portrayal of the child with rickets, calling it libellous on the state of Britain and insulting to the serving serviceman to say that these were the conditions prevailing in his home country.

But I might be wrong, so please do get in touch if you can clear this up one way or the other.

There are also a nice selection of Dig for Victory posters. This, my favourite, comes up twice.

Norman Wilkinson vintage dig for victory poster 1940
Norman Wilson, 1940, est £200-300

So there’s no excuse for not having a copy. Imagine how enticing that cornucopia of vegetables must have looked while almost everthing else was rationed.

I’m sure there are plenty more posters I should have included in here, but I’ve nearly exploded my brain just getting this far. So if you’ve got anything to add, the comment box is below and I’d love to hear about it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to lie down.

The Hound of the Poster-Bills

Uncategorized

For Sherlock Holmes, the essential clue was the dog which did not bark. In the case of this blog, the attentive observer might have noticed that not every auction gets a mention on here.

Studio Seven vintage British railways poster 1957 dog tickets
Studio Seven, 1957, for sale at Onslows est. £500-600

Sometimes this is simply because I can’t think of a thing to say about them; sometimes, however, there is a motive. Which is usually that there are some posters that we want to buy up for sale and I’d rather not be pushing up the prices by broadcasting their desirability all over the internet. Sorry about that.

Hence my stony silence about the most recent Van Sabben auction on November 12th. While this was mostly the usual cornucopia of foreign posters and Dick Bruna (which is of course allowed, they are Dutch after all), in amongst that were a handful of interesting British posters, with the added bonus that, being sold abroad, they might actually be affordable.

Prize exhibit was this, which is yet another example of posters that I have fallen in love with as a result of blogging about them.

I’m slightly concerned that the ickle fluffy bunny being presented as food may turn Small Crownfolio vegetarian if we get it framed, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Even better, though, it wasn’t a single lot. Along with it (and not illustrated on their website) came this classic too.

And as if that was not enough, there was an Ashley Havinden too, albeit with slightly less wall appeal.

Once we’d decided to buy that, it only seemed sensible to put a couple of other bids in too. With the result that we now also own this Reginald Mount, which I think is just post-war.

That also wasn’t alone, but came with this related Mount/Evans.

Along with a third that I’ve never seen before but rather like.

Oddly, this lot cost us more than the Henrion/Lewitt-Him triple bill, which is a bit strange if you ask me.

Now you might think it a bit stranger that this Unger GPO poster, however stylish, was the most expensive lot of all, especially as it is only 10″ x 15″.

But then just look at what it came with.

The total bill was a bit eye-watering but the chance to get posters as good as these doesn’t come up very often. At least that’s what I’m telling myself, even if we have to buy a slightly cheaper house as a result.

Disclaimer: Mr Crownfolio pointed out that a reader of this blog might think that we were over-monied plutocrats just buying posters hither and thither because we can. This is, however, not the case. We don’t own yachts, right now we don’t even own a single house never mind one in every resort. We don’t even go out to dinner that much. We just buy posters.

Surf, psychosis and Audrey Hepburn

In touch with the everyday life of the nation

Uncategorized

As promised last week, another look at Sotherans and their new-found love of posters which I had hitherto never thought of as valuable, never mind the preserve of a Mayfair dealer, But I am always willing to learn.

What’s most interesting about the latest crop of posters that they’ve put up on their website is that there are a whole slew of GPO posters in there. This, by Donald Smith has to be my absolute favourite.

So much so that I almost thought about paying the £125 that they want for it. But didn’t, you’ll be relieved to hear.

I’ve mentioned my utter lack of knowledge about Donald Smith before (when a few of his posters, including the one above, turned up in the 1962 Poster Annual. Unfortunately nothing has turned up to change that since then, so I still can’t tell you the first thing about him except that he made very good posters indeed.

In the same sort of vein are a Stan Krol and Harry Stevens.

There’s a weird lack of consistency in the dimensions of these posters which is a bit puzzling, as they must have been made for a whole range of different displays.

Just to add further variety, there are also a couple of what I think are GPO schools posters, although I’ve never seen them before, both proudly promoting the Post Office’s role as a promotor of national unity, ‘in touch with the everyday life of the nation’. Which is probably something which should have been thought about a bit more before so many of them were closed down.

The sheer joyous optimism about new town life in Harlow in the Walter Hoyle poster at the top is rather wonderful, while the Norman Jacques below more falls under alright if you like that sort of thing. Neither of them, though, are ever going to be worth £145 in my book. Nor is this other Hoyle going to persuade me to part with £225 either.

But the griping about the prices is really a bit incidental. What’s odd (and if I’m honest a bit unnerving) is that this kind of poster has suddenly found its way into the mainstream. I am bemused, I really am.

Further bemusement is also caused by finding this anonymous CoI poster in there too.

I’m guessing it’s early 1950s, but is there really a market for Cold War memorabilia? This Beverley Pick is at least a bit less of a surprise.

But what still confounds me most about all of this is how the usual fare of Cuneos and railway landscapes have almost completely vanished from the Sotherans roster. To be sure, there are one or two in there, but not in the swarms there once were. Instead, they’ve been replaced by, well, this kind of thing. Posters I like and am interested in to be precise. And I’m not sure I like that, I don’t think I’m ready for my tastes to become mainstream. Quite apart from anything else, I’ll never be able to afford another poster again.