EDINBURGH.- For the second year running, the ski season is being disrupted by international travel restrictions. For some of those who were planning to journey to the French Alps, in particular, there could once again be disappointment.

However, one way to guarantee the skiing ‘hit’ in the New Year is to peruse The Ski Sale to be held by international auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull live online on January 18. The auction features a fine selection of original lithographed posters focused on winter sports and travel is presented in partnership with vintage poster specialists Tomkinson Churcher. Nicolette Tomkinson and Sophie Churcher first teamed up with Lyon & Turnbull to launch dedicated poster sales in 2018 and this is the largest selection offered so far.

The sale features nearly 100 pre- and post-war ski posters of resorts in Switzerland, France, Austria and Norway - all of them in colourful and striking designs. There is a poster for most pockets, with estimates ranging from £400 up to £15,000.

At the top end of the budget is a classic 1938 design by Swiss graphic artist Alex Walter Diggelmann (1902-1987) for Gstaad. The first ski school in Gstaad opened in 1923 with the first ski lifts following in 1934-44. This poster, depicting a party on a gondola lift. Is just the thing to decorate a lodge in one of Switzerland’s most exclusive resorts. The estimate is £10,000-15,000 + fees.

Equally celebrated are the designs created by French illustrator Roger Broders (1883-1953) for the fashionable beaches of the Cote d’Azur and the slopes of the Alps. Distinctive for their simple lines and bold, flat areas of colour, many were commissioned by the Paris Lyon Mediteranee (PLM) railway, There are three in the sale including Sports D’Hiver depicting stylised figures in colourful attire disembarking from a rail carriage at the Col de Voza on the Mont Blanc massif. It is expected to sell for £6000-8000 + fees.

Otto Baumberger (1889-1961) designed more than 200 travel posters, many of them promoting winter sports. His 1925 design titled Blue Lake, The Jewel of the Bernese Alps (estimate £1500-2000 + fees) was created shortly after the opening of the Lötschberg mountain railway line. It depicts café society enjoying the crystal-clear waters of the famous Blausee.

A dramatic Hugo Laubi (1888-1959) design promoting the annual ‘white turf’ horse race on the frozen lake at St Moritz is guided at £2000-3000 while a 1939 summer Alpine scene encouraging ‘off season’ summer travel to the Arosa resort by Eduard Stiefel (1875-1968) is expected to bring £600-800.

Striking images by two, as yet, unknown artists carry guides of £3000-5000 each. One of the gems of Norwegian poster art is an English version of Winter in Norway (L'Hiver en Norvège), an Art Deco rendering of two skiers on a sunlit mountain top. One of the skiers waits while another ties his bootlaces. It has the signature Schenk that, thus far, is a mystery for poster collectors.

Signed simply HR is a poster issued in 1922 by the Swiss Federal Railways to advertise the ski resorts of Sainte Croix and Les Rasses. It shows a stylishly dressed young woman on skis standing on the edge of a slope with the monochrome blue sky behind.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Lyon and Turnbull on the 2022 edition of The Ski Sale. This year's auction features the largest selection of ski posters to date, and showcases the alpine scenery of some of the most fashionable European resorts including St Moritz, Davos, Gstaad, Val D'Isere and Kitzbühel during the golden age of ski holidays,” said Sophie Churcher of Tomkinson Churcher.