Postal Art
There is more to life than auctions. as proved by what Mr Crownfolio found on his internet wanderings recently.
What that link takes you to is a short Pathe film about, amazingly, the poster art of the GPO, dating from 1959. Which means that you get treated to things like this Ruskin Spear.
This is the original, sitting on the walls of the GPO Head Office, where you can also find this rather lovely view of Iwerne Minster by John Minton as well.
But don’t worry, as the very period commentary will tell you, if you want to see art works like this without travelling to London, just pop into your local Post Office where these posters will be on display.
The featured set of posters, mostly done by ‘arty’ artists, were apparently intended to give the viewer an awareness of place, which would in turn lead them to address their letters in the correct fashion. Apparently.
But that’s not all there is on offer, the film also features the range of Greetings Telegrams which the GPO now offers, and it’s possible to play the game of Spot-the-Barbara-Jones-birdie (posted before here if you want a closer look).
Sadly, the designer that they choose to feature isn’t Ms Jones herself, but one Shirley Thompson. She’s shown working with F.B. Savage, head of the design department, on a Valentine’s Telegram. But oh, just look at that office.
I’d happily take anything they’ve got in there. Frustratingly, though I can’t quite work out what they’ve got tucked down the side of the desk there. It ought by rights to be one of these.
Except neither of them quite match. Is it a first draft? Or is it something else altogther? I can’t find anything more likely in the BPMA catalogue so if anyone can provide a positive identification, please do.
This film is by no means the end of things either, I can see just from its own page that there is another short film entitled ARP Posters.
It’s a soundless set of rushes, just showing a set of early ARP posters in various ways. But it’s valuable nonetheless. I’ve never seen some of these posters before.
I wonder what else lurks within their archives, waiting to be discovered?