Bradford collection of film posters worth £50,000 go up for auction

Image copyright Ewbank’s Auctions

A collection of original film and circus posters worth an estimated £50,000 are to be auctioned off.

Bradford-based W E Berry Ltd produced and printed the colourful artwork for more than 75 years before its closure in 2004.

Professor Vanessa Toulmin, from the University of Sheffield said the firm’s work included “some of the most iconic British posters of the 20th Century”.

The posters owned by the Berry family will be sold in Surrey on 28 February.

The firm was founded in 1888 but it was during the 1920s that W E Berry was introduced to Fred Martin at Paramount studios and the pair started a business relationship.

Image copyright EWBANK’S AUCTIONS

Prof Toulmin, director of the National Fairground and Circus Archive at the university, said the collection contained “some quite stunning pieces”.

“I’ve spoken to collectors around the world who will be watching the auction and the Betram Mills circus posters will be most keenly looked at,” she said.

“It would be sad if some of the pieces leave the country”, she added.

Image copyright EWBANK’S AUCTIONS

The company produced designs for Ealing comedies, Rank, Disney, Columbia Pictures and Universal Studios, as well as for railway companies and Bertram Mills Circus.

Notable films for which W E Berry produced posters include The Ten Commandments (1923), Oliver Twist (1948), Carry on Up the Khyber (1968), Star Wars (1977) and Flash Gordon (1980).

By the late 1990s, the firm employed about 140 people.

However, financial losses in the early 2000s put the company under strain and it went into administration and closed in 2004.

Image copyright EWBANK’S AUCTIONS

Alastair McCrea, a specialist from Ewbank’s Auctions, said: “This is a particularly interesting collection because it includes hand-painted artwork of W E Berry, one of only three printers in Britain that specialised in printing large posters for cinemas.

“To be able to offer the original hand-painted artwork is incredibly rare.”

Image copyright Ewbank’s Auctions

Many different agency artists produced the poster artwork and some could be produced by more than one artist, if, for example, one was particularly good at depicting animals.

“The posters were meant to grab attention so used bright colours and striking images,” said Mr McCrea.

Producing poster artwork in this way grew more expensive and was effectively finished by the advent of computers.

Image copyright Ewbank’s Auctions

There is predicted to be strong interest from the US where there are numerous collectors of early cinema and circus history.

Museums and also collectors of specific themes are expected to bid in the auction, which features about 400 lots.

Image copyright Ewbank’s Auctions

There are expected to be more than 150 online bidders, far outnumbering buyers in the saleroom.

Such a large collection of poster artwork is expected to take up to five hours to auction.

“I think they are great and complete one-off pieces, you’ll never see another one”, added Mr McCrea.

Image copyright Ewbank’s Auctioneers

The auction is to be held at Ewbank’s Auctions in Woking, Surrey on 28 February at 12:00 GMT.

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