VINTAGE POSTER FORUM

WILLIAM NICHOLSON POSTERS

2015-02-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

I have decided to start off with the posters of William Nicholson. Nicholson is of course well known for his woodcuts and his painting, and (working with James Pryde as the Beggarstaff Brothers) as a great innovator of poster design. The posters I have come across under his own name are shown below, although some of these are merely adaptations of existing book designs and would probably have had no input from Nicholson from the point of view of the poster's design:

1. MR BLAKE OF NEWMARKET. 1897. 28 x 29cms. Printed in green & black. I guess this is more of a placard, being printed on a thin card and having 2 small holes at the top, allowing it to be hung, although I can't remember now whether these were printer's holes, or added later. The book was published with the same design stretching over both covers, in March 1897.

2. THE NEW REVIEW. June 1897. 31 x 25cms. Printed in red, black & ochre. Printed on thin card. An announcement of this famous image as a supplement to the first issue of The New Review. The image was later published in 1899 in Twelve Portraits, issued by the publishers Heinemann.

3. AN ALPHABET. 1897. 75 x 55.5cms. The book was published in October 1897, although the title page is post-dated 1898. The image shows the American issue, published by Russell in New York. Das Fruhe Plakat vol.1 no.20 gives the colours as pale brown, reddish brown & black.

4. LONDON TYPES 1898. 70 x 51cms. Printed in red, black & ochre. The book was published in November 1898 by Heinemann.
Note: As a poster was done for both the Alphabet & London Types, it is possible that one was done for An Almanac of Twelve Sports, published in November 1897 and post-dated 1898, but I have found no record of one.

5. SELFRIDGES OPENING 1909. 68 x 51cms. Printed in black. One of a series of posters done by various artists for the opening of the new Selfridges store. I have had this poster in the past, but unfortunately do not have an image.

6. THE DYNASTS 1914. a) Admiral Lord Nelson. 74 x 51cms. Brown, red & blue. Kingsway Theatre.

b) Napoleon Bonaparte. 74 x 51cms. Brown, red & blue. Kingsway Theatre.

c) Duke of Wellington. 74 x 51cms. Brown, red & blue. Kingsway Theatre.

7. AIRCRAFT PICTURES PAST AND PRESENT 1916. Size & colours not known. Fund-raising exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery.

8. POLLY 1922. c.74 x 49cms. Red, blue, mauve & black. Opera at the Kingsway Theatre.

9. CLEVER BILL 1926. 56 x 41cms. Colours not known.

10. FOOD AND FRUITS OF EMPIRE 1927. In 5 sections. 112 x 594cms. Colours not known. Done for The Empire Marketing Board. The posters were displayed together horizontally.

These are all the posters I have come across, although it would be nice to think there were posters for The Velveteen Rabbit & the Pirate Twins.

EDWARD BAWDEN POSTERS

2010-02-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

EDWARD BAWDEN was a well-known artist & book illustrator who also worked in a number of commercial fields, including ceramics, wallpaper and advertising. Included in the latter were a number of posters. My grateful thanks to the Estate of Edward Bawden & the Cecil Higgins Art Gallery of Bedford, & Transport for London for permission to use some of the images.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

1. British Empire Exhibition 1924. London Transport. 101 x 127cms. Polychromatic. Done in collaboration with Thomas Derrick.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

2. Hyde Park 1925. London Transport.101 x 63cms. Polychromatic.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

3. Changing the Guard 1925. London Transport. 101 x 63cms. Polychromatic.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

4. The Natural History Museum 1925. London Transport. 76 x 50cms. Polychromatic.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

5. This Week 1930. London Transport. 101 x 63cms. Printed in black & green.

6. Dried Beet Pulp c.1931. 76 x 101cms. Polychromatic. I have seen a suggestion that this was done for the Empire Marketing Board, but have not found any confirmation. Credits are to Chas. Baker, Advertising Agents & the Curwen Press.

7. Le Tourquet 1935. 49 x 31cms. Imperial Airways. Black, blue and beige.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

8. Hyde Park 1936. 101 x 63cms. London Transport. Polychromatic. The same design, with different lettering, was used for St James's Park & Regent's Park.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

9. Kew Gardens 1936. 101 x 63cms. London Transport. Polychromatic.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

10. Chestnut Sunday, Bushy Park 1936. 25 x 30cms. London Transport. Blue, red green & black.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

11. Tring, Downe & Westerham 1936. 101 x 63cms. London Transport. Polychromatic.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

12. Barking, Knebworth, Knole 1936. 101 x 63cms. London Transport. Polychromatic.

13. Walton Castle, Clevedon 1936. 76 x 115cms. Shell 'Visit Britain's Landmarks' series. Polychromatic.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

14. Aldershot Tattoo 1938. 25 x 30cms. London Transport. Polychromatic.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

15. Now for the Holidays 1936. 25 x 72cms. London Transport. Blue, brown, yellow & black.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

16. Indoor Sport 1939. London Transport. 101 x 63cms. Black, green & orange.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

17. Kew Gardens 1939. London Transport. 101 x 63cms. Polychromatic.

18. Hue & Cry 1947. Ealing Studios. 100 x 76cms. Polychromatic. This poster also came in a vertical format.

©TfL/Bawden Estate

19. City 1952. London Transport. Pair poster, each 101 x 63cms. Polychromatic.

20. The Titfield Thunderbolt 1953. Ealing Studios. 76 x 100cms. Polychromatic. This poster came in several sizes and formats.

21. York The Histoic City 1954. 101 x 127cms. British Railways. Polychromatic.

22. Pictures for Schools 1966. Royal Academy of Arts 76 x 56cms. Red & green.

23. Edward Bawden at the Octagon 1978. Fitzwilliam Museum. 40 x 28cms. Brown & black.

It does seem rather a long gap between 1954 & 1966, so perhaps there are some others waiting to be recorded.

REX WHISTLER POSTERS

2009-07-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

Rex Whistler excelled in many fields of the arts - book illustrator, theatre designer, muralist, portrait painter, caricaturist etc. He also designed several posters. This is a preliminary list. (The London Transport posters are reproduced with kind permission. Their site is at http://www.ltmcollection.org/) My thanks also to Keith Fletcher & Rachel Campbell for supplying the Age of Walnut & Four Georges images respectively.

©TfL

1. LONDON MUSEUM 1928. 101.5 x 63.5cms. London Transport. Polychromatic.

©TfL
2. THE TATE GALLERY 1928. London Transport. 101.5 x 63.5cms. Polychromatic.

3. THE FOUR GEORGES 1930. 101 x 63cms. Polychromatic.

4. AGE OF WALNUT 1932. 76 x 51cms. Printed in yellow, brown, orange & red.

5. VALE OF AYLESBURY 1933. 76 x 114cms. Shell Lorry Bill. Polychromatic.

6. ENGLISH WOMEN'S CLOTHING 1934. 76 x 51cms. Printed in green, black & red.

7. REUNION IN VIENNA 1934. Not seen. It is possible that the design used was the same as that for the souvenir programme (shown below).

8. VICTORIA REGINA 1935. Not seen. This was first staged in New York, as it was deemed unshowable in London. The death of George V changed that, and it was performed in London in 1937.

9. PRIDE and PREJUDICE 1936. St James's Theatre. 51 x 32cms. Polychromatic.

10. VICTORIA REGINA 1937. 76 x 51cms. Not seen. This was staged in London. I do not know if the same design was used as in the New York production. It is possible that the design of the souvenir booklet (shown below) was used as a poster.

The poster below has come to light. 223 x 102cms. Printed in brown. The size of the small poster does not correlate with this, so I will stick with my suggestion above for the smaller poster for the time being.

JOHN MINTON POSTERS

2009-06-26T00:41:00.000-07:00

John Minton was one of the most popular painters & book illustrators of the 1940's & 1950's. He also did a great deal of commercial work, including some posters. The following are the ones I know about (The London Transport posters are repoduced with kind permission. Their site is at http://www.ltmcollection.org/)

1. THE LOVES OF JOANNA GODDEN 1947. Ealing Studios. 76 x 101cms. Polychromatic. There are several variations of this poster, both in orientation & content. One such vertical variant shows a photograph of Googie Withers against a Minton landscape.

2. EUREKA STOCKADE 1949. Ealing Studios. 76 x 101cms. Polychromatic. Again there were variants, one of which is shown below. Although it contains the same elements, it has obviously been re-drawn for the different format, and the colours were changed.

3. FLY BEA TO SPAIN c.1950. 100 x 62cm. Polychromatic. Much in the style of Time Was Away, published in 1948 (picture courtesy Henry Sotheran Ltd)

4. WHERE NO VULTURES FLY 1951. Ealing Studios. 76 x 101cms. Polychromatic. Again I believe there were vertical variants.

©TfL
5. LONDON'S RIVER 1951. London Transport. 101.5 x 63.5cms. Polychromatic. A 'pair poster', with one poster showing the image and the other the text.

6. CORRECT ADDRESS - EILEAN DONAN CASTLE 1957. GPO. 38 x 25cms. Polychromatic.

7. CORRECT ADDRESS - GREENWICH 1958. GPO. 76 x 51cms. Polychromatic. Commissioned in 1957, the year of Minton's death, and judging from the printer's code, published posthumously.

8. CORRECT ADDRESS - BLANDFORD FORUM 1958. GPO. 73.5 x 91.5cms. Polychromatic. Commissioned in 1957, the year of Minton's death, and judging from the printer's code, published posthumously.

PAUL NASH POSTERS

2009-06-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

Paul Nash designed a number of posters for a variety of clients throughout his career. The following are the ones I have come across. I have not included the famous Leicester Galleries poster of 1918, as this simply reproduces his lithograph Void of War. The London Transport posters are repoduced with kind permission. Their site is at http://www.ltmcollection.org/

1. DRAWINGS BY PAUL & JOHN NASH 1913. Dorien Leigh Gallery. 55.3 x 41.9cms. Colours unknown.

Note: It looks as though Paul did the landscape elements and John the figures.

2. FRIDAY CLUB date unknown, probably pre-1920. Alpine Club Galleries. 76 x 51cms. Printed in black.

3. FRIDAY CLUB Date unknown, probably pre-1920. Mansard Gallery. 76 x 51cms. Printed in green & black.

4. RYE MARSHES 1932. You Can Be Sure of Shell series. 76 x 115cms. Polychromatic.

5. BUY HOME PRODUCE Date unknown, probably 1931 (it was illustrated in that year in Commercial Art). Empire Marketing Board. 54 x 79cms. Polychromatic. Part of a triptych, with text panels to either side.

6. FOOTBALLERS PREFER SHELL 1935. You Can Be Sure of Shell series. 76 x 115cms. Printed in black, brown & blue.

©TfL
8. COME OUT TO LIVE 1936. London Transport. 101.6 x 63.5cms. Polychromatic.

©TfL
9. COME IN TO PLAY 1936. London Transport. 101.6 x 63.5cms. Polychromatic.

10. KIMMERIDGE FOLLY 1937. You Can Be Sure of Shell series. 76 x 115cms. Polychromatic.

EDMUND DULAC POSTERS

2009-06-11T00:43:00.000-07:00

Edmund Dulac was of course famous for his book illustrations, but he did design a few posters. The following are the ones I know about:

1. MACBETH 1911. His Majesty's Theatre. Polychromatic. Size unknown but the original watercolour is 84 x 63cms.

2. THE WILLOW TREE 1917. Globe Theatre. 51x 31.5cms. Polychromatic.

3. CYRANO DE BERGERAC 1919. 76 x 51cms. Polychromatic. Garrick Theatre (image shown has Theatre Royal strip pasted over the original Garrick Theatre title).