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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   The Antique Detective   The Antique Detective Faraway places via travel posters   By Anne Gilbert Travel posters have been produced since the late 19th century, but not seriously collected until the last half of the 1980s which is hard to believe when you see some of the prices at shows and auctions.   The colourful graphics of vintage travel poster images capturing sunny beaches, cruise ships and their exotic ports of call can sell in the high thousands. Yet there are bargains to be had selling in the low hundreds.   Long time collector/dealer Tony Fusco credits Swann Gallery (N.Y.) with bringing new collector interest in the field by introducing new poster categories. He has also spotted two new travel poster collecting trends.   “Today it's a global market that has collectors buying in new categories," says Fusco. "For example, collectors are buying posters from India. Posters that sold for $400/500 a year ago are now bringing over $2,000.“   He also notes that this is due to the growing affluence in India.   Dave Gartler, a Chicago-based Posters Plus dealer, says “posters during the British rule from the 1920s to 40s are spicing up the India poster market.”   Then there are the posters from China.   “I remember back in the seventies when a Chinese shop here in Chicago was selling Mao propaganda posters for a dollar," says Gartler. "I think of it as a lost opportunity.”   The golden age of posters began in France in 1884 when the first poster exhibition was held in Paris. The age of recognition for poster artists had begun.   Jules Cheret received a silver medal at the 1878 International Exposition for creating a new art industry through the application of art to commercial and industrial printing. He also won a gold medal in 1889 and was considered “the father of the modern illustrated poster.”   French train posters, showing the train as the main attraction and its streamlined design, are eagerly sought by collectors and are for the most part modestly priced. An exception would be those done in the Art Deco style by Cassandre that sell in the high thousands.   As advertising posters developed so did the categories, including the travel poster The growing number of poster artists spread from Paris throughout the world. An important posterist from nearby Belgium, Privat Livemont (1861-1936) is considered the Belgian Alphonse Mucha. His travel posters can sell for over $8,000. Another important Belgium posterist is Leo Marfurt (1894-1977). He designed posters for many resorts and the English LNER (London and North Eastern Railway).   Collectors are willing to pay thousands of dollars for posters by A. M. Cassandre (1901-1968) created in his unique Art Deco style. Most famous are his ocean liner posters such as Le Normandie, or those designed for the French railways.   Vintage Italian travel posters have also grown in popularity. Some of the best known, done in the Art Nouveau style, are by Leopoldo Metlicovitz (1868-1944).   Considered a rarity is his travel poster of the Italian Riviera resort of Spezia (1907). In England the poster wasn't considered quite respectable as an art form until artist Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) designed a striking theatre poster.   Travel posters of English resorts, the “underground” and London transport done in the 1930s can still be purchased for several hundred dollars. A top British Rail artist, Tom Purvis (1888-1959), was well-known for his Art Deco designs. His British rail poster “East Coast by LNER” has been reproduced.   “Some of the most colourful travel posters have been done in Poland,” Fusco says. “For a while, they were very popular. The early examples are rare, probably destroyed in World War II. The problem for collectors is the language barrier. They are all in Polish.”   It wasn't until the 1890s that the poster took off in North America. Edward Penfield, an illustrator/artist (1866-1925) was hired by Harpers in 1893 to design a new poster in the USA. By the end of 1895 Scribner’s, the Century and other publications were hiring artists to do poster designs. Many now-famous artists include Maxfield Parrish, Will Bradley and others.   The posters reflected the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts styles. A little known artist, Evelyn Rumsey Cary (1855-1924) designed “Pan American Exposition/Buffalo” in 1900 from one of her paintings. It could sell for $6,000 or more Fusco points out that American ski posters and ski resorts are getting the attention of collectors.   Fusco recalls when the early 50s and 60s United Airlines Posters had a lot of activity and says, “There were just too many of them. When a poster first shows up that hasn't been seen, everybody wants to buy it. Then, others show up and prices drop.”   Both Fusco and Gartler agree that condition is all important. It's not a good idea to buy a damaged poster with the idea of restoring it. If you decide to sell the restored piece it won't have the value of a poster in original condition. Also important is rarity. If a piece is signed by the artist, so much the better.   The earliest posters were printed by stone or zinc lithography. Later photo offset printed posters allowed for larger runs. By the 1940s/50s, silk screening became popular. This allowed each colour of ink to be forced through a fine screen onto the paper.   Many posters were mounted on linen, meaning the paper poster was laid on cloth using some form of animal glue.   If you are a beginning collector get acquainted with the poster dealers in your area; subscribe to catalogs from auction houses specializing in posters. Learn how posters have been produced over the years so you can tell an original printing from a recent reproduction.   You might consider some of the many new spinoff categories of travel posters such as car racing. They are colourful and inexpensive.   Illustrations   1 - Antibes. Trans extra-rapides. C.1910. David Dellepiane. Sold for $4,800   2 - Le Plages. Beaches of France, 1947. Artist Jean Picart. - $450   3 - From 1896. The Sutro baths were the brainchild of former San Francisco Mayor AdolphSutro. They were built near his famous Cliff House and could accommodate 10,000 at one time. It burned down in 1966.   4 - Monte Carlo Beach. 1935. George Goursat. - $2,160   Photo credit: Swann Gallery, New York, NY   Anne Gilbert has been self-syndicating her column "The Antique Detective" and special art and antique features since 1983. She has authored nine books on the subject. "The Antique Detective" appears in the Chicago Sun Times, Palm Beach Post, Patriot Ledger and many other newspapers. Over the years, she has appeared on network television and has also been an appraiser for major museums and private individuals.     Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2009 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster