Harry Riley (1895-1966) was a watercolourist, cartoonist and commercial artist. However, he was best known for designing travel posters to English & Welsh seaside destinations for British Railways.
London-born Riley attended Hammersmith and St. Martin’s Schools of Art. He cut his teeth in Fleet Street where, as a junior artist, he created cartoons for inclusion in the Daily Mail, Punch and other publications. Later, he was commissioned to create figurative works for the likes of luxury department stores, Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges.
He was elected member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and, in the late 1920s, president of The London Sketch Club.
His advertising posters are all 50s Technicolour with smiling, happy, healthy couples and families. All blonde bobs and pigtails. Summer dresses, swimsuits and cravats. Bright blue skies, sweeping golden sands and azure seas.
Born and based in Sheffield, Yorkshire, Kenneth Steel (1906-1970) was a watercolourist, lithographer and engraver of landscapes and urban scenes. In this post we’re honing in on some of his numerous travel posters – for the likes of British Railways and British European Airways (BEA).
At 12-years-old, Steel won a scholarship to attend the Sheffield Technical School of Art. He went on to become the youngest artist to be elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1936.
In December 1940, both Steel’s mother and his pregnant wife were tragically killed in the Sheffield Blitz; the bombing also destroying much of his studio work.
His work can be found in the collections of National Railway Museum, Fife Collections Centre and Newport Museum and Art Gallery. Originals turn up at auction – from Christie’s and Bonhams to eBay – and can fetch into the high hundreds of pounds.
In 2020, a book was published, Kenneth Steel: Catalogue Raisonné of Prints and Railway Posters. The author, Edward Yardley, has co-curated an exhibition of over 100 of his works – Places in Time: The Art of Kenneth Steel – with accompanying talk and tours. It’s currently being held at Harold Cantor Gallery, Weston Park Museum, Sheffield runs until 2nd May 2022.
This week, we’re shining a spotlight on a specialist auction of original vintage posters.
The AntikBar sale is on Saturday 4 September, starting at 2pm. Up for auction are 463 original vintage posters from across the globe including examples from the travel, advertising, sport, war, propaganda and film genres.
We’ve selected half a dozen lots to showcase below.
Lot 64: Advertising Poster Switzerland Swiss Fair Delapraz Lausanne
Original vintage advertising poster for the 36th National Fair Comptoir Suisse in Lausanne, Switzerland held 10 – 25 September 1955 with artwork by Delapraz. The Comptoir Suisse / Swiss Counter is a popular annual fair where individual traders, local producers and larger companies showcase cultural and culinary Swiss traditions. Following the Great Depression the fair became a way to strengthen the domestic market. The image shows Mercury – the Roman god of trade – drawn in red with a yellow cape, riding a pink horse with a blue saddle on a black background with white and yellow text across the bottom of the poster. Printed by Roth and Sauter S.A Lausanne. Good condition, repaired tears, creasing. Country of issue: Switzerland, designer: Delapraz, size (cm): 100×65, year of printing: 1955
Lot 106: Advertising Poster London Transport Underground Green Rover Countryside Bus Bartelt
Original vintage advertising poster issued by London Transport, promoting the Green Rover ticket. Green Thought…Green Rover. The image by Edward Robert Bartelt (1935-2009) shows a double decker bus constructed out of trees and hedges, with the red London Underground logo for wheels – through the window, smiling passengers in colourful outfits are visible and the bus is surrounded by wildlife including boxing hares and birds, all underneath a yellow sun. Underneath the image, purple text informs the reader that Green Rover tickets can be used on 200 country bus routes in London’s countryside, and are valid for a day, alongside details of when and where to purchase tickets. Printed by Leonard Ripley & Co, London. Good condition, creasing, staining, backed on linen. Country of issue: UK, designer: Edward Robert Bartelt, size (cm): 101×63, year of printing: 1961
Lot 145: Advertising Poster Crazy Horse Saloon Pop Art Cabaret Paris France
Original vintage advertising poster for Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris – France featuring a colourful pop art illustration of lady silhouettes with diagonal stripes and stylised yellow lettering set over blue background. Le Crazy Horse Saloon or Le Crazy Horse de Paris is a Parisian cabaret known for its stage shows performed by nude female dancers and for the diverse range of magic and variety ‘turns’ between each nude show and the next. Its owners helped to create related cabaret and burlesque shows in other cities. Good condition, creasing, minor tears, tape on reverse. Country of issue: France, designer: Strack, size (cm): 88×52, year of printing: 1970s
Lot 157: Advertising Poster Bernard Buffet Art Exhibition Maurice Garnier Japan
Original vintage advertising poster for an exhibition of work by Bernard Buffet at the Galerie Maurice Garnier, titled Le Japon / Japan. The featured image shows two figures in traditional Japanese dress looking towards the viewer, on a light blue scribbled background. Text is in a black stylised font and includes the date and location of the exhibition. Bernard Buffet (1928-1999) was a French expressionist artist who won multiple awards for his portraits, landscapes and still-lifes. Good condition, tape marks, folds, creasing. Country of issue: France, designer: Bernard Buffet, size (cm): 71×51, year of printing: 1981
Lot 176: Advertising Poster Camel Pop Art French Paper Mill
Original vintage advertising poster for Pop-Tone by French Paper, featuring a colourful pop art illustration of a yellow and green one-humped camel with holding reins in its mouth and a black and yellow seat on its back set over light purple background, with informative text below the image advertising 24 colours of a new paper line that is inspired by pop art, pop music, pop rocks turning design into eye candy. French Paper Company is a family-owned business located in Niles, Michigan, the mill has been established more than 140 years ago. Excellent condition. Country of issue: USA, designer: Charles S. Anderson, size (cm): 61×48, year of printing: 2000s
Lot 298: Propaganda Poster Bill Jones Tongue Temper Thought Workplace Motivation Parker Holladay
Original vintage propaganda poster – Three T’s that need holding! Tongue, Temper, Thought – “dont let them get away from You” Bill Jones. – Corporate motivational poster featuring people clinging onto the blue, grey, and green capes of three figures, set over yellow background. International Copyright 1928 USA. Parker Holladay Co. (Eng.) Ltd. Drayton House, London. W.C. 1. Printed in England. Very good condition, minor creasing, minor browning on margins. Country of issue: UK, designer: Unknown, size (cm): 71×56, year of printing: 1928
This week, we’re featuring the wonderful graphic designs of Daphne Padden (1925-2010) in our Designer Desire series.
‘Mr & Mrs Crownfolio’ have been writing about Daphne on their Vintage Poster Blog for almost 2 decades and it’s thanks in the main to them that something is actually known of her. The vast majority of the images in our mosaic have been borrowed from them. She’s highly underrated in their, and our, opinion!
Portrait of Daphne Padden painted by her father, Percy Padden
She has produced work for the likes of The Post Office Savings Bank, P & O, British Railways, BEA, ROSPA and Unilever.
Her designs can be found on travel posters, food packaging and restaurant menus. We’re surprised that she never illustrated children’s books, her style is perfectly suited for that medium.
We’re lucky enough to have this single item of hers in our possession – a bright & bold poster produced for The Post Office Savings Bank advertising their investment accounts.
You can often find a handful of Daphne Padden’s vintage works on eBay. If you get out-bid, quite a few places are currently reproducing some of her designs including Beast in Show, To Dry For, All Posters and Art.com.
If you have any information or examples of her work, please share – we’d love to hear from you.
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credit: Sheffield Weekly Gazette
