Vintage Posters at Bloomsbury Auctions

Bloomsbury Auctions will be hosting a sale of Vintage Posters at their new London base, 16-17 Pall Mall on 15th June 2017, from 11am. The auction comprises 216 lots, with estimates ranging from £500-£6,000.

Sale highlights include posters from the iconic spaghetti westerns, A Fistful of Dollars (est. £500-£800) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (est. £400-£600), as well as rare posters from the perennially popular James Bond films: Dr No (est. £3,000-£5,000), From Russia With Love, Goldfinger (est. £1,500-£2,500) and Thunderball (est. £1,200-£1,400).

The 1960s is also well represented with posters for the critically-acclaimed films, The Graduate, 1967 (est. £800-£1,200) and They’re Off (est. £1,500-£2,500) with the American thriller, Bullet from 1968 and starring Steve McQueen, estimated at £800-£1,200.

Posters for The Beatles’ films, Help! (est. £500-£700), Yellow Submarine (£400-£600) and Let It Be (est. £400-£600) feature in the auction. Alongside the Fab Four, The Who also appear in a poster of psychedelic design, (est. £200-£400).

Rare London Underground posters, signed by Henry Charles Beck, known more commonly as Harry Beck, will be on offer, one dating back to 1945 (est. £400-£600) and the other to 1948 (est. £300-£500). Beck’s London Underground tube map was produced in 1933, and was initially rejected by the publicity department as it was considered too radical in design. However, a successful trial print run proved it was just what the public needed. Today the map is regarded as a design classic and Beck is recognised globally for his work. 

Another well-loved London Underground poster is The Wonderground map of London by MacDonald Gill, first produced in 1914 (est. £2,000-£3,000). This comic depiction of London is said to have amused passengers so much that they would miss their trains! 

Further London Underground posters include a Wimbledon Championships poster by Leonard Appelbee from 1939 (est. £600-£800), a Davis Cup Wimbledon poster from 1936, designed by Walter Goetz (est. £500-£700) and a 1936 New Zealand cricket poster designed by Lancaster Gill (est. £600-£800). 

Continuing the transport theme is a nostalgic North Eastern Airways poster from 1930 (est. £300-£500), as well as a very rare East Coast LNER poster by Stanislaus Brien (£1,200- £1,400), depicting a beautifully painted beach scene, and a 1947 French travel poster by Henri Matisse (est. £800-£1,200). 

Signed works by iconic British artist, David Hockney, feature in the auction: Spoleto Festival USA 1997 (est. £300-£500) and Retrospective David Hockney (est. £200-£400).