Apr 24 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2702 -

Sale 2702 - Lot 29

Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000

EDWARD MCKNIGHT KAUFFER (1890-1954)

LUBRICATION BY SHELL. 1937.

29¾x44¾ inches, 75½x113½ cm. Waterlow & Sons, London.
Condition A-: minor repaired tears at edges; minor creases and abrasions in image. Framed.

Kauffer designed two sophisticated and dynamic posters promoting the use of Shell oil as lubrication in prominent planes. In each (designed in 1937) he uses the "space-frame device . . . a simple spatial illusion in which the aeroplane takes off" (Kauffer / Haworth-Booth p. 80). Here, he focuses his graphic attention on the Miles M-11 Whitney Straight airplane. The layout is elaborate, with a photomontage of the plane within an skewed rectangle, that creates a spatial illusion. The text is ordered in such a neat and straight fashion, it appears to serve the purpose of a runway, on which the plane is landing. Kauffer's logo- the wooden mannequin (which appears on other Shell posters) provides a continuing sense of corporate identity.

Crouse p. 31, Affiches de l'Aviation p. 91, Weill / Art Deco p. 159, Kauffer / Haworth-Booth p. 80.
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