FREDERICK C. HERRICK (1887-1970) RMSP / NEW YORK SERVICE. Circa 1921.
40x24 3/4 inches, 101 1/2x63 cm. Sanders Phillips & Co., London.
Condition A: minor staining in upper margin.
Almost all of Herrick's posters are marked by an elegant Art Deco stylization, and indeed he was the only British artist to participate in the famed 1925 Parisian Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. In addition to heading the Baynard Press in London, Herrick designed posters for a variety of clients, including the London Underground, the Empire Marketing Board, RMSP (Royal Mail Steamship Packet), the Royal Mail Line and the Anchor Line. Herrick designed several masterful Art Deco images for the RMSP company, which became the world's largest shipping line in 1927 when it bought the White Star Line. They were later dissolved on account of financial improprieties in 1931, and reestablished as the Royal Mail Line in 1932. This is one of Herrick's rarest posters - we have found only one other copy at auction in the last 30 years. Richmond p. 206.