Vintage Literary Posters

This Wednesday Swann Galleries will hold a two-session auction of vintage posters that are truly fun to look at, which is why a handful of interesting examples are in order. The sale opens with American turn-of-the-century literary posters, including magazine cover art for Harper's, Scribner's, Collier's, and Lippincott's, and moves on to summer resort and travel posters, WWI and WWII propaganda posters, Russian prop art, circus posters, and advertising art. The vibrant colors, the classic graphic design, the embedded cultural history--all make these vintage posters something worth seeing. And a few Henri de Toulouse-Lautrecs too!

Lippincotts.jpgA collector of late nineteenth-century novels? This poster for Lippincott's Series of Select Novels by Will Carqueville would be an excellent addition to your library. The estimate is $400-$600.

harpers.jpgA poster of a Harper's cover from February 1898 of a man reading with his attendant literary cat? An awesome buy. Designed by Edward Penfield, whose work is represented throughout the auction. The estimate is $1,200-$1,800.

army.jpgOne of several in the auction by James Montgomery Flagg, this is the one we all know and love (we love it, right?). I Want You for U.S. Army, 1917. The estimate is $6,000-$9,000.

circus.jpgA handful of circus posters by designers unknown from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey are on the block. This one is Dainty Miss Leitzel from 1918/The Strobridge Litho. Co. The estimate is $1,500-$2,000.

readinglady.jpgI couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this lovely reading lady by Sadie Wendell Mitchell, 1909. The estimate is $400-$600.

Mucha.jpgAnd, of course, the classic Art Nouveau ad art of Alphonse Mucha is not to be missed. Here's one of his Job Cigarette ads from 1898. The estimate is $8,000-$12,000.