Vintage ski posters are always popular with skiers and snowboarders – and you have the chance to make a bid for a selection of rare examples when they go under the hammer at Swann Auction Galleries on Thursday (13 February).
Knut Yran, Norway / The cradle of skiing, 1955. Estimate $1,000 to $1,500.
The sale is taking place at Swann Galleries’ two-floor exhibition space in Manhattan, USA, but it is still possible to live bid online via the website at swanngalleries.com and on the Swann Galleries app. This allows bidders from all over the world direct access to the sale.
Some of the posters date back well over a century and cover resorts from the Alps to Yosemite. The colourful and dynamic designs come from the hands of some of the best poster artists in history. Topping the bill with estimates of $12,000 to $18,000 each are posters by Emil Cardinaux from 1921 and Dwight Clark Shepler from circa 1940.
Swiss-born Cardinaux (1877-1936) is among the pre-eminent ski poster artists of the day and Shepler (1905-74) was an American naval officer and painter who took part in the 1944 Normandy invasion.
The ski and winter sports poster market has grown substantially since it first developed in the 1980s, with collectors targeting specific posters according to design, subject matter, artist, resort and condition.
Alex Walter Diggelmann, Andermatt / Gotthard, 1931. Estimate $1,500 to $2,000
Buyers tend to be ski enthusiasts who want to decorate the walls of their chalets in Europe or their homes in Britain. The sale is timed to coincide with the height of the European ski season.
The Vintage Posters department, led by Swann President and Principal Auctioneer Nicholas D Lowry, conducts at least four sales per year – two broad Vintage Poster auctions that encompass a range of eras and styles, and specialised sales for Rare & Important Travel Posters and for Graphic Design.
Here is a selection of some of the many posters up for auction. All images courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.
Knut Yran, Norway / Pleasant Scandinavia, SAS, 1961. Estimate $700 to $1,000.
Dwight Clark Shepler, Sun Valley / ‘Round House’ on Baldy Mountain, 1940. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
Edwin Hermann Richard Henel, Garmisch – Partenkirchen / VI. Internationale Wintersportwoche, 1950. Estimate $800 to $1,200
Jack Galliano VIII Olympic Winter Games / Squaw Valley, 1960. Estimate $1,200 to $1,800.
Bernard Villemot, Winter Sports / Fly Air France Jets, 1954. Estimate $800 to $1,200.
Sascha Maurer, Flexible Flyer Splitkein / Smugglers’ Notch Attic & Barns, circa 1935. Estimate $2,000 – 3,000
Designer unknown, Snow – Sun — & Fun / in la Province de Québec. Estimate $800 to $1,200.
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