Designer Desire: Robert P. Gersin

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Health & safety is a necessary but mundane topic. It takes a talented designer to create interesting and eye-catching educational materials in the subject. Frederic H K Henrion was one such person, Robert P. Gersin was another.

We’ve brought together a number of the posters he designed in the 1970s for the National Fire Protection Association – and another – a ‘Plan for New York City’ for the Department of City Planning. They’re all in the possession of the Cooper Hewitt Collection, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.

I was unable to find any other work credited to Robert P. Gersin as an individual, although I found evidence of logo and branding (e.g. Simon Enterprises, Hackensack Medical Center and the Jamaican government) created by the organisation he founded.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, none of his designs were available to purchase. In addition, not a lot could be found about the man himself except for this short obituary below:

Robert P. Gersin, an award-winning industrial designer, died of cancer Wednesday at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. He was 60 years old and lived in Manhattan.
Mr. Gersin, a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and the Cranbrook Academy of Art, gained an international reputation through Robert P. Gersin Associates Inc., a company he started in 1959.
He received more than 350 awards for a wide range of designs, including interiors, products and corporate identity programs. In 1984 the company designed the logotype and corporate identity program for Sears, Roebuck & Company, and in 1988 it designed the interior for Casual Corner stores.
Mr. Gersin is survived by his wife, Ingrid; his mother, Belle, of Milton, Mass., and a brother, Barry, of North Cambridge, Mass.

New York Times, 20th October 1989

Designer Desire: Harry Riley

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.

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Additional image credits:
Travel Posters Online

Auction alert: Original vintage posters

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

Designer Desire: Raymond Savignac

Raymond Savignac (1907-2002) has been referred to as the last of the great French poster artists. Indeed, he has produced advertising designs for classic French brands such as Air France, Cinzano, Citroën, Gitanes, Le Figaro and Perrier. Also, companies including Band Aid, Bic pens, Dunlop, Life Magazine and Pepsi-Cola. He even designed a wine bottle label for the Mouton Rothschild vineyard – you don’t get much more French than that!

You can purchase reproduction prints of his designs from art.com and vintage & brand-new ones on Etsy.

He had a long and prolific career – producing over 600 designs and working well into his 90s.

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Additional image credits:

Invaluable

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: vintage poster

Designer Desire: Robert P. Gersin

Designer Desire: Harry Riley

Auction alert: Original vintage posters

Designer Desire: Raymond Savignac