To war, again

It’s auctions a-go-go this week.  And the next on our list is yet another tranche of World War Two posters for Wallis and Wallis down in darkest Sussex, to be sold on Tuesday.

Make Do and Mend Vintage WW2 poster

I’m rather reluctant to deal with what’s on offer this time round  (61 lots, a good hundred posters at a guess) because the whole set up makes my head ache.  It’s not just the fact that they’ve listed the posters as being either A3 or A1, when they surely must be in Imperial measurements.

Even more frustratingly, only eleven of the posters are actually illustrated, and those seem to have been chosen by sticking pins in the catalogue at random.  World War I recruiting poster in Welsh, anyone?

World War I vintage recruiting poster in Welsh

Independence calls for the bravest man, apparently.

Or then this,

Lubricating Oil is imported in tankers vintage ww2 poster Wallis and Wallis sale

which has been illustrated in preference to a Dame Laura Knight poster for “War Pictures by British Artists. National Gallery Trafalgar Square”.  Apparently it’s an image of a barrage balloon, but I can’t find it anywhere and would love to have seen it.

One or two classics have been illustrated.

Keep Mum vintage WW2 poster Wallis and Wallis auction

Along with this one, which I’ve never seen before but rather like.

Hit Back By Doing War Work vintage ww2 poster Wallis and Wallis

It would have been nice to have known the artist, or whatever other information is in that small print, but of course they’re not telling.

Plenty more other gems are almost certainly lurking in the catalogue, but I simply don’t have the whole day or more that it would take me to try and track down every single poster they mention.  This one is definitely on offer.

Womens Land Army ww2 poster wallis and wallis

As are a whole heap of fuel economy Bateman posters (at least eleven, spread seemingly at random among six different lots), along with a Fougasse on the same theme.

Fougasse Don't waste fuel poster ww2 wallis and wallis

There are plenty of other fuel economy posters in there too; not all, however, are classics.

Fuel watcher vintage ww2 poster wallis and wallis

There are also two more lots of the Beverley Pick ATS recruiting posters which were pointed out to me in the last auction.

Beverley Pick ATS recruiting poster ww2

I’d like to be able to tell you what those fetched in the last sale, but, frustratingly, the Wallis and Wallis website doesn’t even have results on it so I can’t.

I’ll post about Pick again one of these days, as I’ve dug out more of his/her war posters, and they’re all good.  And if anyone has any more information about their work in the meantime, I’d love to know.

Going dutch

It was the Van Sabben poster auction on Saturday.  As usual, there weren’t too many British posters there, but this time those few were mostly of very high quality – and ones that don’t often turn up – so it’s worth taking a look at.

To start with, there were five Abram Games.  This RAMC Parachute poster made the most, at €600 (approx £508), despite being my least favourite by quite some distance.

Abram Games RAMC parachute vintage poster 1944

I would much rather have had this one, for a mere  £386-sih.

Abram Games vintage ROSPA stacking poster 1947

Clearly someone who was very interested in sending telegrams to ships was selling their collection too, as there was this 1947 Rothholz (a bargainous £183)

H A Rothholz vintage GPO poster sending telegrams to ships 1947

And a 1949 Pat Keely on the same subject which went for just  £122.

Pat Keely vintage GPO poster radiotelegrams ships 1949

As well as yet another Games – probably the nicest of the three, and quite cheery for him.

Abram Games telegrams ships vintage GPO poster 1950

That went for £355, since you ask.

But the highlights of the sale for me were three Zero posters.  The starter is this lovely Central line extension poster from 1946, which made just over £200.

Hans Schleger vintage London Underground central line extension poster 1946

But that’s not the main attraction.  This fantastic WW2 Ministry of Food poster

Hans Schleger vintage WW2 poster grow your own food

would have been covetable enough on its own, but it came with its sibling too.

Hans Schleger vintage WW2 poster eat greens

Together they went for £560, which is actually very reasonable for posters of this quality – especially ones which don’t tend to come up at auction much.  We didn’t buy anything in the end, but I now wish we’d tried a bit harder with these two; we might never get the chance again.

Just to stop this blog being too insular, it is also worth remembering that the auction had hundreds of very lovely foreign posters for sale too.  Van Sabben quite often have a fair quantity of Dick Bruna for sale.  This auction had just a few, but this one, advertising childrens’ book week, is rather fun, especially just for £91.

Dick Bruna childrens book week poster

I also rather like this image by Kees Kelfkens, which I’ve seen come up before and went for £142.

1958 Kees Kelfkens poster give a book

But then I am always a sucker for a nicely drawn cat.  Especially one from 1958.

Even though the sale’s over, it’s still worth taking a look at the catalogue, as Van Sabben offer ‘aftersales’ – i.e. a chance to buy anything which didn’t go at auction.  So it’s still possible to get a 1943 Pat Keely for just over £100, should you so desire.

Pat Keely navy poster 1943

But don’t spend all your money now.  The Onslows’ sale comes up in just a few weeks time – more news on that when the catalogue appears.

Take your Pick

I was going to ignore the second Wallis and Wallis auction of World War Two posters, on the grounds that they mostly illustrate the same truth as the first auction, which is that there were far more bad wartime posters than good ones.

Once again in this auction, pictures of aeroplanes and excerpts from Churchill’s speeches are by far the majority.  Posters like this.

vintage World War Two poster RAF aircraft types wallis and wallis

There’s perhaps one classic,

womens land army vintage world war two poster

And a couple which I quite like for no real good reason.

Save your coal for winter owl vintage world war two poster

Squirrel coal order fuel now vintage world war two poster

They’ll all go for a lot of money, though, so who cares what I think.

But then Serena, who had clearly been reading the catalogue more closely than I had, pointed out that lot 588 was quite interesting.

588 2 WWII ATS recruiting posters: “ATS as Signal Operators” 3 operators, one with morse key (51-9700) and “ATS carry the messages”, despatch rider on motor cycle (51-9796); in a sleeve. VGC

To be precise, at least one of them is by Beverley Pick and is rather good.

ATS carry the messages vintage world war two poster beverley pick

I’m guessing that the other one is also from the same series, but I can’t find an image of it.  Pick also did this one as well.

beverley pick vintage world war two poster ats at the wheel

I rather like the mixed photo-montage and text – Pick did the same sort of thing in these two great posters (apologies for not very good images).

'Lend A Hand On The Land - Your Help Will Stop Waste', World War II poster, c1939-c1945.

Lend a hand beverley pick vintage world war two poster

I can find a few other things in the same sort of style, like this wartime one whose point I can’t entirely grasp.

Beverley Pick Nillson vintage world war two poser

And a few other things which are entirely different.

Beverley pick stagger working hours vintage london transport poster

Then that’s about your lot.  I think that, after the war, Pick concentrated on exhibition and industrial design rather than posters, including parts of Britain Can Make It and the Festival of Britain, and I ought to do some more research when I am less pressed for time.  More on this later then, and thanks again to Serena for flagging the poster up.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world of auctions, this Abram Games has come up on eBay.

Abram Games super shell poster

It’s lovely, it’s backed on linen, I’ve never seen it before, but it is still eye-wateringly expensive at $1,700 Buy It Now.  You can make a best offer, though; perhaps I will go for £150 and see what they say.  There on the other hand, as it’s almost 80″ x 120″, and I don’t have an advertising hoarding to put it up on, perhaps I won’t bother.

Lucky Dip

As promised last week, it’s random image day – a whole heap of posters that I have discovered along the way but not managed to use in a post.  All sizes, all shapes, every one a great piece of design.

Here’s a Mount/Evans for starters – it’s from the V&A collection and I’ve never seen it anywhere else.

Mount Evans Keep Our Secrets Secret fish vintage poster COI

It comes from their prints website (that is prints that they sell you, rather than the Prints and Drawings Department), which tells me it comes from 1960.  One day I will rant about the impossibility of getting any kind of fix on what the V&A actually holds, but even describing what it does and doesn’t do is such a daunting task that it may take me a while.

This Reginald Mount (the third of a set which were up on eBay a while back) also comes from there.

Reginald Mount Keep Britain Tidy poster park keeper

And I can’t tell you a single thing about this (which, again, I’ve never seen before) because their system is so byzantine and strange that I now can’t find it again.  But, is good.

Don't keep a diary vintage ww2 poster

Not only Reginald Mount, but Hans Unger would also like you to Keep Britain Tidy, although he is rather more anguished about it.

Hans Unger Keep Britain Tidy 1964 COI vintage poster

And yes, that is a photograph of a poster pinned to a piece of hessian.  You’ve got to love the Design Council Slide Collection.  As well as the seventies.

They also produced this pair of Eckersleys, which are a bit different to most of his work.

Tom Eckersley Weekend Living poster

Tom Eckersley holiday haunts brochure

Not sure about the dates for these, the Design Council puts the first one at 1980, but it looks earlier than that, about the same period as the brochure cover.  I’m also taking their dating with a pinch of salt, as they estimate the second one to be c1959-65 – despite the large black 1961 in the top right corner.

Meanwhile, back at the GPO, there are some very strange posters.  This one, by Beaumont, for example.

Beaumount a smile in your voice vintage GPO poster

Apparently this is from 1957, although it looks earlier to me.  He was clearly saner in 1950 when he did this for them.

Beaumont cable vintage poster GPO

And finally, a random bit of early 60s kitch.  They must have really loved that diving board at Weston Super Mare, I’ve seen it on so many posters.

Weston Super Mare vintage British Railways poster

Good, now I can tidy them all away.  Only to start laying down some more, of course.

Tom Eckersley : life and work

As promised a while back, the moderately personal biography from Tom Eckersley : A Life in Design, slightly edited down for your entertainment and education.  With some pretty pictures too.

Tom Eckersley LCP exhibition poster Looking Back
LCP Exhibition poster, 1979

Tom Eckersley OBE RDI AGI was born in Lowton, Lancashire on 30 September 1914.  His birth preceded that of the concept of ‘graphic design’ as it is understood today, which, as Tom observes, had its roots in the twenties and thirties.  Tom began his career at what he recalls as “that stimulating time when certain artists, supported by enlightened clients, saw opportunities to use their art and their vision to solve communication problems.  They began to realise the many exciting visual possibilities that could be derived from the major art movements taking place in Europe between the wars.”

Tom Eckersley offset thingy
Press advertisement for paper manufacturers, c1965

Tom’s parents were great readers, their house was full of books on all subjects, and Tom spent a lot of his childhood reading and drawing.  At his mother’s suggestion, he enrolled at Salford Art School at the age of 16.  Here his artistic abilities and his dedicated approach to work were recognised and he was awarded the Heywood medal for best student.  Here it was too that he met fellow student Eric Lombers, with whom he came to London in 1934 aged 20, to embark upon a career as a freelance poster designer.

Eckersley Lombers vintage poster for London Transport 1935
Eckersley Lombers, London Transport 1935

The two shared a tremendous enthusiasm for their art and for the poster.  “The early thirties made a strong and lasting impression on me,” Tom reflects, “helping to shape my attitude to graphic work.  At that time the poster was perhaps the most significant form of publicity, the great Cassandre and other French designers produced avant-garde posters, as did McKnight Kauffer and Hans Schleger in England.  This greatly influenced me and I soon became seriously involved in poster design.”

Eckersley Lombers Austin Reed ad
Eckersley Lombers, Austin Reed poster, 1938

The Eckersley-Lombers team was fast established among leading poster artists at this exciting time in the history of commercial design.  Certain clients and advertising agencies were looking to artist to produce material that was both functional and aesthetically pleasing, and the team was commissioned by Shell, the BBC, London Transport, the GPO, Austin Reed and advertising agency W S Crawford.  Tom and Eric also worked as visiting lecturers in poster design at the Westminster School of Art.

Eckersley Lombers gas mask vintage poster
Eckersley Lombers, ARP poster, 1939

When war broke out the volume  of commercial advertising declined.  Tom and Eric joined the Royal Air Force and the Army respectively and so their partnership came to an end.  Tom continued his creative output in the early war years with a powerful set of posters for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

Tom Eckersley ROSPA vintage poster rogue 1945
ROSPA, 1945

The ideas were conceived whilst he worked in camp, as a cartographer, and executed in a makeshift studio during 24-hour home leaves.  Later he transferred to the Publicity Section of the Air Ministry, lived at home, and did work for a number of clients, including the GPO, an association  which had begun before the war and continued for many decades after.

Eckersley GPO address letters vintage poster 1944
GPO, 1944

In 1948 Tom was awarded the OBE for services to British poster design.  He had reached the top of his profession and many a ‘man in the street’ who did not know the Eckersley name was familiar with his posters.  Tom’s flawless clarity of purpose, his rich imagination and his gentle humour had impressed many messages upon the public: that they should avoid industrial injuries, shave with Gillette razors, dress at Austin Reed and fill their cars with Shell, to name but a few.

Tom Eckersley Gillette dog poster
Magazine advertisement for Gillette, early 1950s

His great qualities had created lasting images that pleased, amused and were rcalled and talked about long after the campaigns had run their time.  Tom’s international reputation was established too, and in 1950 he was elected member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale.

Tom Eckersley private presses exhibition poster LCP
LCP Exhibition poster, n.d.

In 1957, Tom became Head of Design at the London College of Printing, a post which he held until 1977, whilst designing posters for a number of clients, some new, like Cooks and UNICEF, and some of whom, like London Transport and W S Crawford, had first commissioned his work before the war.

Tom Eckersley Lincolnshire Vintage poster British Railways
Lincolnshire, British Railways, 1961

[This biography was written in 1994, Tom Eckersley died in 1997. All images come from the Eckersley archive at the University of the Arts.]

Addendum:  I carefully typed all of this out, and then found another, possibly even more interesting, biography as a PDF.  So now you can choose between them.

Advance poster warning

Today, a couple of odds and ends where nothing is happening yet, but will in due course.

Firstly,  the Morphets site is trailing Part Three of the Malcolm Guest collection, which are the 2,000 or so (if my memory serves me correctly) post-1960 posters from the collection.  Not as interesting to railway buffs, very interesting to Crownfolio.  At the moment they are teasing us with just two tiny jpegs.

3 day tour south devon poster morphets another post 1960 railway poster that I can't see

I know nothing of either of these posters, so if you can tell me who or what they are, I’ll be very grateful.  In the meantime, Mr Crownfolio and I will start saving the pennies for July.

At the other end of the country, Wallis and Wallis are selling some more HMSO posters in early May.  I blogged about the last sale, which included some interesting ATS recruiting posters.

ATS Cook HMSO vintage poster Wallis and Wallis

Amazingly, those first twenty lots fetched almost £15,000 (full story here), which is fairly mindboggling, given how little these kind of posters used to go for just a few years ago.  I also didn’t find them a desperately inspiring bunch either, but I am guessing they appealed more to WW2 collectors than poster/design collectors, so am perhaps not that well-qualified to comment.

Land girls ww2 vintage poster wallis and wallis auction

The lots on sale in May will come from the same batch, which were apparently saved by a worker at a printing firm when he was asked to throw them out, hence their mint condition, but Wallis and Wallis aren’t giving away too many details yet, apart from the image above.    More news as it happens.