WW2 poster Archives - Page 5 of 10

life : henrion : rabbit

I called up this book out of our library’s reserve stores the other day (you can easily enough find it on Amazon if your library isn’t so obliging).

It’s from 1972, so I wasn’t hoping for too much from it, but actually I was surprised. There’s a short introductory essay, but then the bulk of the book consists of short biographies of some of the designers who produced propaganda posters during World War Two – not just those from the UK but also Russians, Europeans and Americans as well.

Reading them has been a salutary lesson for me. I tend to assume that all of the knowledge in the world is out there on the internet for me to find. And if it isn’t there, it’s not known. Well I’m wrong. Because there is plenty of information in here which is new to me. Like a proper biography of James Fitton, for example, which told me that he left school at fourteen and worked on the docks in Manchester, attending art school in the evenings. All of which makes me admire him even more.

So today’s post was going to be all about the these biographies. But then I got distracted by this.

Which is fabulous, and by FHK Henrion. In fact it’s so fabulous that it’s currently on display at MoMA in New York, along with some of its brethren. (Well rabbits will breed, won’t they).

The exhibition is Counter Space : Design and the Modern Kitchen and if I could get over to New York to see it, I would. Every bit of it, from early functionalist design to artworks about domesticity sounds brilliant. And it’s on until early May, so if you do get the chance to go, please do and let me know all about it.

But for the purposes of Quad Royal, the really interesting thing is that there is a whole section of British Home Front posters about food. Hence Mr Henrion and his rabbits. There are in fact three, as they also have the pair of the first poster, which explains why that rabbit is looking behind so nervously.

Now under normal circumstances I’d just go on about these, but MoMA themselves have written an excellent blog post about these posters, which I really couldn’t improve on.

But fortunately for those of us who aren’t going to make it to New York this month, there is at least a handlist of all of the exhibits online. Which means that I can tell you that, in addition to the Henrions, they are also exhibiting a few old friends like the Vegetabull.

Which means that we have something hanging on our wall which is also up in MoMA. Get us.

In addition, though, the exhibition is displaying a really intriguing set of posters which I have never seen before.

By Herbert Tomlinson about whom I know nothing.

This pattern of absence and presence is really interesting. On one hand, it’s easy to see why these posters have ended up in MoMA; they fit very easy into the narrative of International Modernism which the museum itself has done so much to construct.

What I understand less is why these posters seem to have disappeared over here. This may be no more than random chance: these weren’t posters that anyone much wanted to collect or keep, by a designer that no one much remembered so they disappeared into oblivion as soon as they were torn down. Or perhaps a rat and mouse-infested world isn’t how we want to remember the war?

Whatever the reason, it’s yet another reminder of two important facts about posters. One is that the history which does exist is very much constructed, and that the story may differ wildly depending on who’s doing the telling. The other is that all of these histories are made from a very partial and unrepresentative sample. So few posters survive, and for such random reasons, that it will perhaps never be possible to tell the complete tale of posters at any point in time. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a lot of fun trying in the meantime.

Save Your Bit

archives, posters

I’ve been rummaging around in the VADS picture archives again, and to my delight have discovered that the Imperial War Museum have uploaded many, many more war posters recently. I’m not even a quarter of the way through them yet, but this set did particularly amuse me. They start off fine, even if I don’t actually know what the first one is on about.

Even the next one seems fairly reasonable, if a bit depressing.

But they won’t stop there, oh no.

And although I can find it funny now, it probably wasn’t then. From this distance it’s easy to rhapsodise over the Blitz Spirit and everyone pulling together, but sometimes the Second World War must have felt like really grindingly hard work. Especially when you were being ordered about by posters like that one on every street corner and in every shop. It would have been enough to make me stay up late out of defiance. Perhaps it’s fortunate that they weren’t reliant on me to win the war.

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.

Poster, poster, poster, table.

eBay

There are a ridiculous number of posters on eBay right now, and I’m not just talking about the Crownfolio clearance sale. The poster collectors of the world seem to be spring cleaning with a vengance. Or something. Whatever the cause may be though, there are posters out there and you can buy each and every one of them for money.

To start with, worthydownbookstore have unleashed a flood of health and public information posters. Now I quite like a few of these. Although I am less of a fan of the carpet.

But I don’t think that many of them (with the possible exception of the one above) are from World War Two, which is how they are all described. This Reginald Mount I am pretty sure is early 1950s (another from the campaign has appeared on here before ) while the one below that has to be even later.

Whatever the actual dates, it’s still an interesting haul. As ever, my beef is with the prices, which range from £45 to £80 for the ones above. all on Buy It Now. Which is only a bit under what I’d expect to see them fetching in an expensive gallery, rather than on a carpet. We shall see.

One of our regular haunts, thebasement101, is currently selling a selection of what can only be described as the wrong sides of pair posters – the side with all of the text rather than the pretty pictures, like this Harold Hussey from 1952.

Compare and contrast with the other side. I think the birds have it over the words.

And, like every other LT poster they sell, the asking price is £99. Not even the linen backing can make that value for money. Unless I suppose you want to make up the pair.

While we’re there, you could also pay £95 for this 1967 poster by John Finnie. Or perhaps not.

I would love to know where all of these linen backed posters came from though.

Elsewhere, a quirk of fate means that you have not one but two chances to buy this Tom Eckersley stock poster; either in the UK for £150,

Or from the States for $195.

Another fine carpet there too, I see.

Finally, something which is not a poster, not for sale on eBay and doesn’t even have an estimate attached. But it is wonderful.

And unlike a poster or indeed pretty much anything else by John Piper, you can put your coffee cup down on it. For sale on the 10th in Malvern if you wish to enquire further.

Going, gone

auctions, eBay

So it’s back to work after the birthday festivities, which today means a brief round-up of eBay and auction news. Such as there is.

Thebasement101 seems to have an almost inexhaustible stock of slightly obscure London Transport posters backed on linen. He has put another three up for sale this week, of which my favourite is this Victor Galbraith owl from 1960.

Although I do not like it with £99 worth of like. I must research Victor Galbraith properly one day, because the few bits of his work I’ve seen I always enjoy. But I’m not even going to look today, as who knows where it will end up and I have other things which have to be done. But if anyone out there knows something, please do get in touch.

Mr Basement also has the two posters below, by Stella Marsden and Maurice Wilson respectively.

If you prefer railway posters and steam trains (is this the Quad Royal demographic? I’m not sure) then there is also this Studio Seven piece, which is quite good if you do want a piece of 1960s text about steam trains. And a lot cheaper than £99.

Elsewhere on eBay, two conundrums. Exhibit A is undoubtedly an interesting and very rare survival of some World War Two propaganda that is also commercial advertising. But it’s the picture that’s the problem.

Because at first glance it could easily be mistaken for a pro-Nazi poster. Which is an interesting reminder that context is all; I am sure that no one in an art shop in 1942 would have thought that way. But which makes me feel that it belongs in the context of a museum. Or am I being too sensitive here?

Exhibit B is only really a conundrum in the sense that I am forced to wonder who on earth thinks it is worth that money? Yes it is a McKnight Kauffer poster, but it is a 1973 reprint for the V&A with, frankly, not very nice lettering added.

If that is worth £159, I am a stick. It’s not even ‘Must-have’ as the seller suggests in the title. Really.

The rest of this post is a slightly sorrowful litany of Things We Have Missed. Starting with this Barbara Jones book. Now the seller didn’t do themselves any favours -here’s their photo.

And here’s the cover scanned rather than photographed in infra red.

But even so, I would have expected it to go for a bit more than just £7 when it goes on Abebooks for between £40 and £50. (To my chagrin we put a stupidly low bid on it because we’ve already got one, and now I feel foolish).

And finally, this.

A collection of posters, Keep Britain Tidy, Henry Moore Exhibition, Heath Robinson posters etc

That’s all the lot description said, and it caused a mad panic here at Crownfolio Towers, because the email alert arrived on the day of the auction. I do know that it had one of these in.

And also, possibly, a 10 x 15 version of one of these.

Along with a couple more Keep Britain Tidy posters that I can’t trace. But more than that I will never know, because it went for £10 over our top bid. I can, just about, live with that, because we hadn’t seen the condition or anything. But I would still love to know what the posters were, so if any of you lot bought them, can you send the photos over? I promise I won’t be too bitter.

Over-modern and over here

designers

An interesting comment appeared a week or so ago on a older post about Beverley Pick.

He was a man. Bless him… He was my uncle and a very clever man..He also did the original Moby Dick… Beverley was originally from Austria and lived many years in Sunningdale during the winter. Autumn he would visit his House in Cork and in his latter years he and his wife would live in France where they had a gorgeous home. He is now buried in the Churchyard at Sunningdale. There was so much to this man we will never know it all…

I’ve written to Odile Walker, who posted those intriguing memories, and I hope she’ll come back and tell us more. But in the meantime, one thing that I never knew stands out. Despite his British-sounding name, Beverley Pick was an emigré from Austria.

Beverley Pick pig waste vintage WW2 propaganda poster
Beverley Pick, WW2 poster

Now, I’ve been thinking for a while about the degree to which post-war British graphic design was shaped by people who were one way or another foreigners. There are so many of them that it would be hard not to really. But finding that this is also true for Beverley Pick has pushed me into action.

So here is a roll call of as many emigré designers as I can think of who worked in the UK in the decade or so after the war. It’s an impressive selection. With, for no particular reason other than that’s the way it turned out, lots of GPO posters as examples.

Andre Amstutz

Whitley bay poster Andre Amstutz vintage british railway poster
British Railways, 1954

Dorrit Dekk

GPO, 1949

Arpad Elfer

Arpad Elfer design for DH Evans poster 1954
D H Evans, 1954

Abram Games

F H K Henrion

Henrion Artists and Russia Exhibition 1942
1942

H A Rothholz

H A Rothholz stamps in books poster vintage GPO 1955
GPO, 1955

Pieter Huveneers

Pieter Huveneers fleetwood poster 1950 vintage railway poster
British Railways, 1950

Karo

Heinz Kurth

Heinz Kurth design for Artist Partners brochure divider
Artist Partners

Lewitt-Him

Manfred Reiss

Manfred Reiss vintage GPO poster 1950
GPO, 1950

Hans Schleger

Hans Schleger vintage GPO ww2 poster posting before lunch
GPO, 1941

Hans Unger

Hans Unger 1951 vintage GPO poster
GPO, 1951

Together they make up pretty much half the content of this blog most months. And I am sure that there are plenty more I have left out – please feel free to remind me who they are.

That’s all I am going to say for now, partly because this is quite long enough as it is, but also because I am in the process of working out what the story might be. So if you have any thoughts on why British design became such an emigré profession, I’d love to hear those too.