May 09 at 12:00 PM - Sale 2668 -

Sale 2668 - Lot 32

Estimate: $ 5,000 - $ 7,500

HANS RUDI ERDT (1883-1918)

LAWN - TENNIS TURNIER / HEILIGENDAMM. 1908.


38¼x27¼ inches, 97x69¼ cm. Hollerbaum & Schmidt, Berlin.
Condition B: losses and restored losses in margins; repaired tears, replaced losses, creases and overpainting in margins and image; repaired pin holes at edges; foxing in image.

Hans Rudi Erdt was one of the most prolific and prestigious poster artists in Berlin at the beginning of the 20th century. Along with three of the other most prominent designers of the era, Lucian Bernhard, Julius Klinger and Julius Gipkens, Erdt worked for the printer Hollerbaum & Schmidt. He produced posters for a wide variety of clients, and his designs, punctuated by flat colors and strong outlines, reflect his talent as a draftsman, along with a great sense of stylization and a flair for layout.

Heiligendamm was an elegant, seaside resort founded in 1793 by the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, Freidrich Franz I; it remained popular with German royalty through the pre-World War I era. In 1899, the resort began holding a summer tennis tournament, the Heiligendamm Open; in 1908, the tournament was won by a British player, Laurie Doherty. DFP-III 763, Wember 261.