NEW YORK, NY.- Swann Galleries’ winter offering of Vintage Posters saw the highest recent sell-through rate of the house’s large biannual sale in the category, “This is particularly gratifying under the circumstances in which auctions are being carried out during the COVID-19 era. The sale covered a variety of different collecting areas— Art Nouveau, ski, travel, food and beverage, and we set records on a number of different posters across the genres offered. Most impressive was that we sold 92% of the ski posters offered, which is far and away a company record,” noted Nicholas D. Lowry, specialist for the sale and president of Swann.

An artist record was set for H.A. Volodimer with Grand Prix d’Endurance de 24 Heures / Coupe Rudge – Whotworth, 1923, at $15,000; and Roger de Valerio’s Air France / Dans Tous Les Ciels, 1935, brought the highest price paid for the work at auction with $5,000. Additional poster records included Henry le Monnier’s Source Verdier, 1931, at $4,000; and a 1930s advertisement for travel to Zion National Park in Utah via the Union Pacific Railroad, at $3,000.

Art Nouveau led the sale with Manuel Orazi’s 1900 design for La Maison Moderne—the preeminent art and home décore store of the day dedicated to Art Nouveau—at $37,500. Master of the movement Alphonse Mucha was present with Tragique Histoire d’Hamlet / Sarah Bernhardt, 1899 ($17,500); and Zodiac / P. Ploton & D. Chave, 1898 ($10,625). Also of note was L’Estampe Moderne, a complete set of 100 plates in 24 fasicles, 1897–99 ($17,500).

The successful ski and winter poster selection included two poster records for Peter Ewart’s Canadian Rockies via Canadian Pacific, circa 1950, at $4,250, and Sascha Maurer’s Ski at Lake Placid, 1938, at $4,750. Also of note was Augustus Moser’s 1936 advertisement for skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho via the Union Pacific railway ($8,125), as well as Emil Cardinaux’s Zermatt / Matterhorn Schweiz, 1908 ($13,750), and Palace Hotel / St. Moritz, 1920 ($9,375).