NEW YORK, NY.- The summer Vintage Poster auction at
Swann Galleries on Thursday, August 3, will feature one of the largest and most impressive collections of Italian Liberty-style posters to come to market in decades. Additional highlights include Art Nouveau and Art Deco images from across the globe, summer travel posters to inspire you, and a selection of propaganda posters from both World Wars.
The auction opens with over fifty posters from the collection of Italian Liberty-style posters. The offering features the work of many of Italys most renowned graphic designers: Oswaldo Balerio, Luigi Bompard, Mario Borgoni, Marcello Dudovich, Giovanni Mataloni, Aldo Mazza, Leopoldo Metlicovitz, Aleardo Terzi, and many others. Among the highlights are exceptional images that have not appeared on the international auction scene in over two decades, including Dudovichs Società Torinese Automobili Elettrici / Torino, circa 1910 ($15,000-20,000), Metlicovitzs Alla Spezia, 1907 ($10,000-15,000), and Mazzas Scienza Per Tutti, 1909 ($3,000-4,000).
French Art Nouveau posters are led by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrecs magnificent poster of Aristide Bruant, Ambassadeurs, 1892 ($50,000-75,000); exquisite, top-end works by Alphonse Mucha such as the complete 1896 series of The Seasons ($40,000-60,000); and the complete 1899 Times of Day ($30,000-40,000). Also on offer by Mucha are two posters for Moet & Chandon from 1899 (together, $25,000-35,000) and all of his Maîtres de lAffiche images, among others.
A run of very rare Art Deco Japanese advertising posters includes Lily Brand Bordeaux Mixture and Stain & Oil Remover (together, $800-1,200), Hanging Bell/Tsurigane/Luxury Store ($800-1,200), and Damola/Ch. Takeda & Co. ($800-1,200).
Beach and Summer resort posters will are represented with Sutro Baths, 1896 ($12,000-18,000), and a selection of Australian travel images with and American Airlines advertisement ($1,220-1,800), William Dobells Orient Line to Australia, circa 1938 ($4,000-6,000), as well as Gert Sellheims Australia/Surf Club, circa 1936 ($1,200-1,800), and Australia/Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, circa 1937, ($1,000-1,500).
Early American entertainment is solidly represented by three scarce Buffalo Bill show postersmost notably Buffalo Bills Wild West and Pioneer Exhibition, 1907 ($8,000-12,000)and one of the great tattoo images, Captain Costentenus. 1876 ($5,000-7,500).
Rounding out the auction are a featured selection of World War and propaganda posters, including James Montgomery Flaggs iconic I Want You For U.S. Army, 1917 ($5,000-7,500), and Keep Calm and Carry On!, 1939 ($10,000-15,000). Food and beverage advertisements of note include works by Leonetto Cappiello with Bitter Campari, 1921 ($8,000-12,000), and Cognac Monnet, 1927 ($3,000-4,000); Philippe Henri Noyers Limonade Brault, 1938 ($4,000-6,000); and Luck Lager / Its Lucky When You Live in America, circa 1940s, attributed to Charles Allen ($1,500-2,000).