A.M. Cassandre marked the maiden voyage in this 1935 travel poster. The advertisement poster for the Normandie and her “First Arrival in New York City on June 3 [1935]” surpassed its $2,5/3,500 estimate and finished at $16,510.
Review by W.A. Demers
WASHINGTON, DC — On May 23, Sloans & Kenyon conducted an auction featuring property from the lifelong collection of Washington, DC, resident Charles Nau. Crossing the block were rare, vintage advertising and travel posters, Asian ceramics, furniture and objects and quirky advertising collectibles and ephemera. This rich single-owner collection was augmented by antiques, furniture, rugs, silver, jewelry, antiquities and ethnographica from numerous estates and consignors.
Charles John Nau Jr, 77, died April 6 in Washington, DC. Nau was a lawyer, lobbyist, politico and world traveler. His rare blend of humor and brilliance was reflected at home in a whimsical wonderland of collections and artifacts, on parade in this sale.
Leading the day was the impressive presence of the SS Normandie, captured in a 1935 Art Deco poster by A.M. Cassandre (1901-1968) marking her maiden voyage. With sight dimensions of 38 by 24 inches the advertisement poster for the Normandie and her “First Arrival in New York City on June 3 [1935]” surpassed its $2,5/3,500 estimate and finished at $16,510. The Normandie was claimed by the US Navy in New York City at the beginning of World War II. Renamed the USS Lafayette, the Normandie was being refitted to become a troop ship but caught fire and capsized.
Three Nineteenth Century Japanese woodblocks also finished at $16,510, far above their $600/900 estimate. They included Gekko Ogata’s (1859-1920) “Night Attack of Soga” from the series “One Hundred Mt Fuji,” 1896; Utagawa Hiroshige’s (1797-1858) “Fukagawa Lumberyards” (Fukagawa Kiba), from the series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” (Meisho Edo hyakkeiin); and “Jumantsubo Plain at Fukagawa Susaki,” by Hiroshige from the same series.
Three Nineteenth Century Japanese woodblocks also finished at $16,510, far above their $600/900 estimate. They included Gekko Ogata’s (1859-1920) “Night Attack of Soga” from the series “One Hundred Mt. Fuji,” 1896; Utagawa Hiroshige’s (1797-1858) “Fukagawa Lumberyards” (Fukagawa Kiba), from the series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” (Meisho Edo hyakkeiin); and “Jumantsubo Plain at Fukagawa Susaki,” by Hiroshige from the same series.
An antique stone lithographed poster designed by French archeologist and painter George Groslier (1887-1945) depicting the Angkor Temple in Cambodia shows priests and dancers in the entrance of the temple plus flowers and other offerings being made at the Khmer temples with elephants at entrance. The 1911 poster, 46 by 62 inches, elicited a robust price of $12,200. Catalog notes state that Groslier opened the first archeological museum in Phnom-Pen and was during all his life the protector of the Angkor temples.
The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967. This travel poster boasting the 16-hour trip on the new 20th Century Limited New York to Chicago in 1938 was signed by American artist Leslie Darrell Ragan. It left the gallery at $10,370, well above its $2/3,000 estimate.
Fetching $10,370, well above its $2/3,000 estimate, was a travel poster boasting the 16-hour trip on the new 20th Century Limited New York to Chicago. The 1938 vintage poster, 40 by 27 inches, was signed by American artist Leslie Darrell Ragan (1897-1972), a known illustrator of trains through landscape. Printer was Latham Litho., New York. The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967, during which time it would become known as a “National Institution” and the “Most Famous Train in the World.” Travel time was less than 16 hours each way between the two cities during its streamlined years.
An allegorical painting by Dean Ellis (American, 1920-2009) illustrated the “History of Energy from Ancient Times to the Present.” The 1940s oil on canvas featured in a General Electric calendar. Framed, it measured 15 by 50 inches and went out at $8,890, well above its $500/700 estimate.
A 1930 travel poster for the Trans Siberian Express brought $5,185, a premium above its $200/300 expectation Measuring 39 by 27 inches, the poster was printed in Moscow in 1930 and published by the Izdatel’stvo Narkomtorgov SSSR I RSFSR. It depicts a train moving rapidly along a mock map of Europe, the Soviet Union and the Far East with Kremlin buildings in the background and a big red star over the train. The catalog notes that 7,000 posters were printed.
Vintage posters from the Charles Nau collection continued to surpass their estimates. The Big Bluff movie attributed to American cartoonist John Held Jr went out at $5,080, well above its $900-$1,200 estimate.
Continuing the sale’s trend of vintage posters surpassing their estimates was one for the movie The Big Bluff, attributed to John Held Jr (1889-1958), American cartoonist, printmaker, illustrator, sculptor and author. It sold for $5,080, well above its $900-$1,200 estimate. The Big Bluff, the 1933 Reginald Denny impersonation / mistaken identity / romantic comedy is about a snobbish woman who wants to impress her friends, and she hires a man to pretend to be British royalty at a party she is throwing.
John Held was also the artist for vintage travel poster advertising popular vacation destinations. The Enchanted Isle, Martha’s Vineyard, dated July 1, 1934, was for the New England Steamship company advertising Martha’s Vineyard. It sold for $4,880 and measured 41 by 27 inches. Taking $4,697 was a travel poster promoting Nantucket for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company and the New England Steamship Company.
This poster by French artist Paul Colin for France’s International Film Festival of Cannes in 1946, depicts a cameraman whose head is a globe with a camera in place of a machine gun and with the world’s flags instead of bullets. It realized $4,270, just above its high estimate.
For the France’s International Film Festival of Cannes in 1946, a poster, 62 by 45 inches, by French artist Paul Colin (1892-1985) depicts a cameraman whose head is a globe with a camera in place of a machine gun (as World War II had just ended) and with the world’s flags instead of bullets. It realized $4,270, just above its high estimate.
Two non-poster lots performed well. Bringing $4,758 was an Italian 18K bright polished yellow gold Byzantine-link flexible strap choker. And changing hands at $4,270 was a six-piece Shreve, Crump and Low Co. sterling silver tea/coffee service.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For more information, www.sloansandkenyon.com or 301-634-2330.
