Posters from the ‘Golden Age’ of travel worth thousands of pounds form highlights in Ewbank’s Vintage Posters auction on July 25th.
Leading the way is the Durham L.N.E.R company’s It’s Quicker By Rail, a linen-backed Quad Royal Travel Poster dating to 1930 and measuring 39¼ x 49½ inches. The stunning design was created by Tom Purvis (1888-1959), an English painter and commercial poster artist, with a resident role at LNER, who also took part in the art competitions at the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics. The estimate is £1,500-3,000.
Glamis Castle, Kirriemuir It’s Quicker by Rail is another linen-backed poster promoting the LMS and LNER services of the same period. Designed by the artist Cecil King (1881-1942), and measuring 25 x 39¾ inches, it is expected to fetch £1,000-2,000.
The French artist Roger Broders (1883-1953) is one of the most celebrated travel poster artists ever – his ski resort designs for St Moritz, Davos and other places have made tens of thousands of pounds.
This sale includes Broders’ design for what was arguably the most romantic trip of all from the Golden Age, the London Baghdad / Simplon Orient Express. Dating to 1931, and a classic, the design shows the last visible remains of the ancient city of Ctesiphon in Iraq. Here, the 3rd to 6th century site is being used to promote the eight-day London to Baghdad journey on the Orient Express. This Paris printed poster measures 24½ x 39 inches and carries hopes of £1,000-1,500.
Liners
As important as rail during the Golden Age were the great cruise liners. Travel Cunard White Star The Western Highlands of Scotland, dating to around 1935, is another linen-backed design promoting travel by The Royal Route Steamers. With artwork by the Scottish artist Tom Gilfillan (active 1932-61), this 24¾ x 40 inches poster has a guide of £800-1,200.
The sale also includes much earlier designs, such as the Windsor by Motor-Bus poster from 1920. A linen-backed poster, with artwork by F. Gregory Brown (1887-1941) who also designed for London Underground, it depicts a romanticised view of the gatehouse to Windsor Castle and measures 19½ x 30 inches. The estimate is £300-500.
At the same price guide but dating to 1915 is Kingston Vale by Tram, another linen-backed design, by Hawley Morgan, from the same series and measuring 20 x 30 inches. Depicting an open country road with a pub and woods, Hatfield Route 155 from 1916 is also by F. Gregory Brown, and 20 x 30 inches. The guide is £300-500.
Earliest of all is Paris St. Lazare A Londres, a 1914 design for the French railways by Maurice Toussaint (1882-1974), which depicts the sort of military subject for which he was well known. At 29¾ x 41¼ inches, it has hopes of £250-350.
If the 1920s and ‘30s was the pre-war Golden Age, the 1950s saw the birth of widespread international travel by air. A 20¾ x 29¾ inches Fly BOAC Switzerland poster with stylised artwork by Aldo Cosomati has a guide of £300-500.
“As the artists commissioned to design these posters, and the designs themselves show, poster art was taken seriously from the start,” says Senior Partner Andrew Ewbank. “Attractive, enticing, artistic, nostalgic and often with superb graphic elements, it’s not surprising that travel posters appeal to so many collectors. They also have tremendous ‘wall power’, and pound for pound can be a particularly appealing alternative to traditional art as a decorative alternative for the home.”
Live online bidding is available via www.ewbankauctions.co.uk
Images courtesy of Ewbank’s
