Queer Things
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.