Rare Book Monthly

Articles - August - 2014 Issue

Major Poster Sale at Swann Galleries

Keep Calm and Carry On.

Wars have been going on as long as there have been humans; tennis not quite so long. However, they have one thing in common. Each is a featured topic in Swann Galleries' auction of Vintage Posters set for August 6. There are other subjects, including different sports and travel and recreation, featured among the 498 posters that are being offered for sale. Still, tennis is the highlight here, as Swann notes “it is the largest single offering of tennis posters ever to come to auction.”

 

The tennis posters came from an Australian collection, and while many great tennis players came from Down Under, the posters come from all over the world. Swann explains, “Featuring works by the biggest names in design, remarkable ads for famous tournaments by unknown artists, and posters that depict fashionable athletes in their finest tennis gear, the selection offers a wide variety of vintage advertisements, and covers more than a century.” Still, this covers 70 of the 498 lots, so there is much to be found here even if tennis isn't your cup of Fosters.

 

Here is a poster that could combine tennis and war, though not in an obvious manner. It features a tennis racket, ball, and colorful pennants, celebrating the Concurso Internacional de Navidad (International Christmas Competition), put on by Real Tenis Club Turo. The tournament was scheduled for December 27-31 in Barcelona. What is unusual is the timing, not the days but the year. It was 1939. Europe was on the brink of its biggest war. Germany had already invaded Poland, the Soviet Union had moved into Finland, and England and France had declared war, though they had not actually started to seriously fight. By spring, however, German troops would be in France. Spain, however, while sympathetic to the Axis powers, would manage to stay out of the war, allowing sport to go on, even as it tried to balance its sympathies with its self-interest not to antagonize the Allies, or become involved in the fighting. Lot 212. Estimated price of $700-$1,000.

 

Sometimes advertisers would use tennis to promote a totally unrelated product. This poster promotes Gulflex Lubrication. This was a service of Gulf Oil's gas stations. They would grease your car. What does this have to do with tennis? Nothing, of course. However, since this was a product of a “service station,” the poster is headed “finest service in town,” and features a picture of a young lady, tennis racket in hand, about to serve the ball. Lot 215. Estimated $600-$900.

 

Here is something totally different. It is a poster by Andy Warhol. It wasn't intended to be advertising, but Warhol must have done more for Campbell's Soup than most advertisements ever did. Does anyone know whether Warhol liked Campbell's Soup, or did he just draw pictures of the cans? This poster displays 100 cans of Campbell's Soup, stacked ten high in ten rows. This time it is not the iconic tomato soup, but 100 cans of beef noodle. The poster was printed in 1978, and Warhol has signed it at the bottom. Lot 498. Estimated $800-$1,200.

 

After famously keeping America out of war, Germany's persistent sinking of U.S. merchant ships with its u-boats led President Wilson to seek a declaration of war in 1917. War was declared on April 6. Americans quickly sprang into action. In New York, the Mayor's Committee on National Defense set April 19 as “Wake Up America Day.” A parade was marched through the city while citizens were encouraged to sign up for military service. That day commemorated the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and in particular, Paul Revere's famous ride to warn the local residents of danger. New York decided to recreate that ride in its own way. At midnight, on the Revere ride's 142nd anniversary, a woman dressed as a continental soldier rode horseback through the streets of New York summoning America's men to respond to their nation's call. This poster by James Montgomery Flagg notified the citizens of the planned calling. It is headed Wake Up America Day, and notes the date of April 19, 1917. It shows a woman, looking perhaps like Paulette Revere, with a flag in one hand, a lantern in the other. What young man could resist? Lot 53. Estimated $3,000-$4,000.

 

This next poster features what has become an extraordinarily popular motto, even if it meant nothing at the time it was created. In the days after Britain entered the Second World War, but before seriously engaging in fighting, the British Ministry of Information began work on posters to rally the people if the situation became worse. Three were created, and copies of the first two were issued, though it hardly seemed like war yet. They were not well received, considered somewhat condescending with their urgent calls for action at a time when it hardly felt like war. Posters for the third motto were also printed up in 1939, but placed in storage. Reportedly, some 2.5 million of these posters were printed. You would think they are very common, even today. However, due to the chilly reception for the other two, it was decided to pulp these posters, all of them, to be recycled for other use. They were destroyed without ever seeing the light of day, their motto unknown to the public. However, a handful of them did survive, and this is one. They were not discovered until the year 2000. It features white lettering on a red background with a royal crown at the top. This is one of the 30” x 20” versions, larger than most. The motto: Keep Calm and Carry On. Lot 93A. Estimated $12,000-$18,000.

 

Swann Galleries' Vintage Poster auction will be held on Wednnesday, August 6, from 10:30 – 2:30. You can see the posters that will be sold that day at the following link: catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/searchresults.asp?st=D&pg=1&sale_no=2356&ps=10

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.

Article Search

Archived Articles

Ask Questions