Released Today: “The World’s Rarest Movie Posters”

Over 283 color images of vintage movie posters include the extremely rare drive-in theater posters are featured along with the more common one-sheet size. These posters, often very different from the standard posters, were printed in smaller numbers, adding to their interest and value. Auction results from 1989-the present, and other pricing information make this a useful tool for collectors of posters who are trying to make informed purchasing decisions.
A perfect book for lovers of movies and movie posters. Here are images of some of the rarest movie posters in the world. With over 283 color images of vintage movie posters,.the extremely rare drive-in theater posters are featured along with the more common one-sheet size. These posters, often very different from the standard posters, were printed in smaller numbers, adding to their interest and value. All of these posters have less than ten known copies in existence, and many have only one or two known examples. Posters of such favorite movies as “”Alien,”" “”Caddy Shack,”" and the “”Attack of the 50-Foot Woman”" are included, with iconic movie stars Marilyn Monroe, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Auction results from 1989-the present, and other pricing information make this a useful tool for collectors of posters who are trying to make informed purchasing decisions.”

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Posters of the Cold War

“The poster was a key medium in the Cold War, used to produce both fear and loyalty at home and abroad. “Posters of the Cold War” surveys poster design from the late 1940s when the ‘Iron Curtain’ was drawn across Europe to the collapse of communism in the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Featuring over seventy designs by some of the leading artists and graphic designers of the period including Pablo Picasso, Grapus Design Collective and Peter Kennard, posters have been selected from twenty countries to demonstrate the wide international reach of the conflict.

David Crowley teaches history at the Royal College of Art, London. He has published many articles and books on the history of graphic design and is a specialist on the culture of Eastern Europe in the twentieth century. He is the consultant curator of Cold War Modern, a major V&A exhibition.”

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A Century of Olympic Posters

by Margaret Timmers (2008)

“As four-yearly snapshots through time, Olympic posters provide a fascinating record of our world – a lens through which we can explore links between sport and art, politics and place, commerce and culture. They offer an intensely visual representation of the modern Games, sometimes heralded as the ‘Greatest Sporting Show on Earth’. “A Century of Olympic Games Posters” draws largely on the V&A’s poster collection and shows the evolution of the Olympic Games poster, from the first official poster for Stockholm in 1912, right up to the present. This diverse collection of images includes official posters for the Summer and Winter Games set in their historical context, and linked to pervading themes such as politics, commerce, the Olympic symbols, cultural and physical diversity, and urban regeneration. It accompanies an exhibition at the Museum of Childhood.”

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1851775382/britishomefro-21

Vietnam Posters: The David Heather Collection

“Rarely viewed by the outside world, this collection of posters from the 1950s to the present encompasses a politically significant period in Vietnamese history. With their boldly rendered images of Ho Chi Minh and local heroes; guerrilla fighters, tanks and bombers; factory workers and the urban and rural landscape, these posters-many produced in small numbers under economically adverse conditions-reverberate with vibrant colors and innovative graphic language, revealing much about the country’s cultural and political climate. An overview of the collection shows how imagery from indigenous folk art, the work of French-trained nationally acclaimed artists, as well as Russian and Chinese propaganda styles have all influenced the unusual, graphically diverse styles of these posters. This collection offers a deeply resonating, visually arresting social history of a country during times of peace and war.

About the Authors

DAVID HEATHER is a businessman, curator, and collector of North Korean and Vietnamese art and the co-author of North Korean Posters (Prestel). He lives in London.SHERRY BUCHANAN is a former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal and the International Herald Tribune. She is the publisher of Asia Ink and the author of several books on art, history, and culture.”

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Frank Wootton

Studied at Eastbourne College of Art under Eric Ravilious, Wootton (sometimes mis-spelt Wooton) was a painter of a range of subjects, including landscapes and equestrian subjects, as well as the aviation images that he is best known for. Personally commissioned to do work for the MOI by Edwin Embleton, the Canadian Museum of Flight described Frank Wootton as ‘The Dean of Aviation Art’: ‘A class, traditional painter, his aircraft “fly”; his clouds “move”, and his “mood” is always evident.’. Air Chief Marshal Sir Neil Wheeler commented that Wootton’s painting utilised realistic backgrounds, and ‘leave one with the impression that the aircraft could actually fly’. With a highly realistic style, Wootton took ‘great trouble’ to search for ‘technical and historical accuracy’. He was assigned as an official artist to the Royal Canadian Air Force, and also painted designs for the RAF. He experienced first hand the aircraft, pilots, ground crews, skyscapes and landscapes of the Second World War. A pioneer in ‘aviation art’, his work can be found in museums in Canada, Australia, the UK and the United States. In 1983 he exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, and has an impressive list of awards. In 2002 he was described as a long-standing supporter of RAF Benevolent Fund who had recently completed a painting for the entrance to Lord Dowding House, their sheltered housing project. He was the first aviation artist to have a book published on the subject, and in 2002 he appeared to have no obvious plans to retire. Married to Virginia, living in England, he was still a charter member and past president of the prestigious Guild of Aviation Artists.

See Wootton, F. Frank Wootton: 50 Years of Aviation Art, 1997

Information collated from: Wootton, F., Frank Wootton: 50 Years of Aviation Art, 1997; Questionnaire submitted by Royall, K. to Embleton, E., Royall, K., ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of British Defence’, Unpublished M.A., University of Westminster, 1991, p.123; Canadian Museum of Flight, ‘Art Gallery – Frank Wooton Page’, http://www.canadianflight.org/gallery/fwo_home.htm, last updated 2002, accessed October 4 2003

H.G.Winbolt

Worked with Leonard Cusden, producing sixty to seventy posters a year for ROSPA, for distribution to factories. His designs tended to originate as ‘mind pictures or actual happenings’ rather than an illustrated thought, and he was responsible for hiring other artists. It is not entirely clear if he was actually an artist or not, but he was Head of the Industrial Department of ROSPA. He allowed artists to do their own work, limiting poster criticism to technical defects, and ensuring that the message was in tune with policy.

Information collated from: Anonymous, ‘Surely these Posters Must Prevent Accidents?’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 127, No. 1,660, March 15 1945, p.378; Anonymous, ‘How Specialised Angle Helps Safety Posters’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 122, No. 1,594, December 9 1943, p.256

North Korean Posters: The David Heather Collection

“This rare glimpse into North Korean society is the first book of its kind: a riveting collection of state-sponsored propaganda posters that presents the unique graphic sensibilities of this little-known country. Seldom seen by the outside world, North Korea s propaganda art colors the cities and countryside with vibrant images of brave soldiers, happy and well-fed peasants, and a heroic and compassionate leader. More than 250 of these posters are collected here for the first time, showing the wide range of North Korean propaganda art. Hand-painted pieces of art, these posters display the latest political slogans that are repeated in newspaper editorials, government declarations, and compulsory study sessions throughout the country. A collection that will appeal to artists and graphic designers as well as those interested in this closed society, this book may not represent the reality of North Korea, but rather a vision of the country as promoted by its regime and depicted by its state-sponsored artists.”

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H.S. Williamson (b.1892; d.1978)

Harold Sandys Williamson was born in Leeds on 29 August 1892. He studied at the Leeds School of Art between 1911 and 1914. In 1915 he attended the RA Schools in London, 1914-15 and was awarded the Turner Gold Medal. Initially turned down from the army in the First World War on health grounds, he joined as a rifleman in January 1916. He served in France, wounded by a grenade fragment on September 15 1916. He received treatment in the UK and then returned to France in May 1917.

Injured at other points in the war, he moved between the battlefront and the UK, working on paintings whilst recuperating. Whilst recuperating he was recruited to the War Artists Scheme for the MOI, but the Armistice meant that the contract was not taken up. Williamson became a respected artist after the war, designing posters for LT, and showing work at the RA, the New English Art Club, the London Group and many other galleries. Between 1930 and 1958 he was Headmaster at the Chelsea School of Art, employing Henry Moore as head of a new sculpture department in 1932. Well known as a British poster artist, Williamson was a ‘great admirer of William Roberts whom he had employed at Chelsea as a supervisor of drawing’, and of Ceri Richards. He was devoted to classical music and Radio Three. The IWM owns several of his works from when he was official war artist on the Western Front in the First World War, ‘with a particular emphasis on the depiction of the role played by animals’.

Information collated from: Imperial War Museum, ‘The First World War letters and paintings of
Harold Sandys Williamson’, http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/fww_rem/fww-art.htm, accessed September 21 2003; Imperial War Museum, ‘The First World War letters and paintings of Harold Sandys Williamson’ (Page 2), http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/fww_rem/fww-art2.htm, accessed September 21 2003; Imperial War Museum, ‘The First World War letters and paintings of Harold Sandys Williamson’ (Page 8), http://www.iwm.org.uk/online/fww_rem/fww-art8.htm, accessed September 21 2003; Consignia, ‘Heritage Collection’, http://www.consignia.com/heritage/html/transport/left/airmail.htm; http://www.consignia.com/heritage/html/transport/left/packet_boats.htm, accessed October 3 2003.; Fineart.ac.uk, ‘Henry Moore’, http://fineart.ac.uk/artists/102/, accessed October 3 2003; Brighton School of Art and Design, ‘Archive Vicky’, http://www.adh.brighton.ac.uk/schoolofdesign/MA.COURSE/01/LIAWilliamson.html, accessed October 3 2003.

Norman Wilkinson (b.1878; d.1971)

Norman Wilkinson was born in Cambridge, educated at Berkhamsted and St Paul’s, and studied art at Portsmouth and Southsea Schools of Art. Wilkinson did early work for the Illustrated London News and worked for them until he entered the Royal Navy [in] World War I. Wilkinson designed the successful multi-coloured ‘dazzle camouflage’ in 1917, used by the Royal Navy and adopted by the US Navy in 1918. After the war he emerged as ‘one of the best known poster designers in the country’, working for shipping and railway companies. He was a keen yachtsman but also very interested in aviation and during World War II he served in the RAF.

He is best remembered as a maritime artist, and also designed posters for other railway companies including the RA series of posters for the LMS in 1924. He also worked for the Illustrated London News and Illustrated Mail. In the late 1930s The London Midland and Scottish Railway Company commissioned from Norman Wilkinson, PRI, a series of posters featuring famous public schools of England and Wales. Wilkinson was elected President of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, and in that capacity wrote a noted letter to The Times. He was also a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. Wilkinson was personally commissioned to do work for the MOI by Embleton, Edwin. He was still designing posters in the 1950s.

Information taken from: Old Stoic Society, http://www.stoweschool.org/ossociety/news/, accessed September 22 2003, ‘Luxury Liners of the Past’, ‘Postcard Artists’, http://www.geocites.com/luxury_liners/Artists.html, accessed October 03 2003, Raven, A., ‘The Development of Naval Camouflage’, http://www.shipcamouflage.com/1_4.htm, accessed September 22 2003, ‘More War Posters Wanted’, Advertiser’s Weekly, September 28 1939, p.324, Letter from Wilkinson, N. to The Times, ‘A Task for Artists’, The Times, September 25 1939, Rennies Vintage Posters, ‘Norman Wilkinson’, http://www.rennart.co.uk/wilkinson.html, accessed September 22 2003, Questionnaire submitted by Royall, K. to Embleton, E., Royall, K., ‘Posters of the Second World War: The Fourth Arm of British Defence’, Unpublished M.A., University of Westminster, 1991, p.123, The Vintage Poster, ‘Norman Wilkinson’, http://www.thevintageposter.com/4942.html, accessed September 22 2003

Related Links

• Norman Wilkinson, written and/or illustrated
• Ship camouflage invented by Norman Wilkinson

Norman Widger

Widger was Publicity Manager for G & J Weir Ltd, who put posters to music in factories.

Information collated from: Shaw, C.K., ‘Works Relations’, Advertiser’s Weekly, Vol. 124, No. 1,618, May 25 1944, p.259.