Feeling glum stuck indoors? Brighten things up with a vintage poster

Judging by the number of houses covered in scaffolding much of that cash is now directed towards home improvements.
Why not think about interior revamps – including brightening up your walls with some vintage posters? Specialist dealer and auction house Antikbar is a good place to start. The Antikbar Original Vintage Posters Featuring Travel & Advertising Posters taking place on November 7 has lots of options to help see off the lockdown gloom when stuck indoors. Although having travel posters is perhaps a bit like torture right now…
Here are five suggestions from the sale.

Come fly with us

This travel advertising poster pictured top was issued by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. The striking artwork by Paul Erkelens (b.1912) features a KLM propellor plane flying in a dark blue dusk sky over a tree in the foreground with a skyline of buildings and a crescent moon in the background. KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij/Royal Dutch Airlines; since 1919) is the flag carrier of the Netherlands. The 1m x 59.5cm design was printed in the 1940s.
Estimate: £1200-2400.
Visit thesaleroom.com to see this travel advertising poster issued by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Wheels of fortune

Triumph cycles poster - estimate £375-750 at Antikbar on November 7.

Cycling mania was part of the ‘democratisation of travel’ kicked off earlier by the railways and later encompassing cheaper and reliable cars and motorbikes and then post-war package holidays.
This poster for Triumph Cycles was printed by David Allen & Sons, London (1888-1930s). The Triumph Cycle Co Ltd was founded in 1884 manufacturing bicycles, based in Nottingham (and motorbikes from 1902). In 1956 Triumph bicycles became part of the Raleigh Bicycle Company.
The large 1930s poster, 1.52 x 1.01m, is estimated at £375-750.
You can bid for the poster for Triumph Cycles on thesaleroom.com.

Bobby on Tower Bridge

Western (L’Ouest) and London Brighton and South Coast railways poster - estimate £300-600 at Antikbar on November 7.

What could be more British than a policeman in traditional garb standing on Tower Bridge? The design of this early 20th century poster promoting London as a tourist destination is by H Colb. It was issued in France by the Western (L’Ouest) and London Brighton and South Coast railways to advertise the rail routes from Paris to London, leaving from the Gare St Lazaire and travelling via Dieppe. Estimate: £300-600.
To bid for the Western (L’Ouest) and London Brighton and South Coast railways poster check thesaleroom.com

Empire builders

Fred Taylor Empire Marketing Board poster - estimate £300-600 at Antikbar on November 7.

Fred Taylor (1875-1963) was one the most renowned of a group of superb inter-war poster designers, with his work often gracing promotions for the railway companies such as the LNER.
Shown he is one of his more unusual creations: issued by the Empire Marketing Board (EMB 1926-33) as part of a campaign to promote trade within the British Empire. It was printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by Thos Forman & Sons Nottingham in the 1930s and measures 50 x 75cm. Estimate: £300-600.
See thesaleroom.com to view the Fred Taylor Empire Marketing Board poster.

A Picasso for £75-150

Picasso Communist Party of Spain poster - estimate £75-150 at Antikbar on November 7.

Fancy owning a Picasso for a sum expected to be in the region of £75-150? Try this advertising poster issued by the Communist Party of Spain to promote sales of their bonds. The design uses detail from Two Women Running on the Beach painting by Pablo Picasso.
The Communist Party of Spain (Spanish: Partido Comunista de Espana; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos.
The 1981 poster measures 66 x 97cm. The advertising poster issued by the Communist Party of Spain features on thesaleroom.com.