Nov 12, 2007 - Sale 2128

Sale 2128 - Lot 38

Price Realized: $ 1,140
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
KENNETH SHOESMITH (1890-1939) ROYAL MAIL / 'ATLANTIS' CRUISES.
39 3/4x24 3/4 inches. Baynard Press, London.
Condition B+: vertical and horizontal folds; tears at edges; creases in image; archival tape on verso. Paper.
The Royal Mail Line, despite its name, which implies merely a cargo service for postage with perhaps a few bunks thrown in for passengers, is an old and prestigious company. Founded in 1839 as the RMSP (Royal Mail Steam Packet), the company became the largest shipping group in the world in 1927 when they purchased the White Star Line. Throughout the 1930s, the company worked in close association with Shoesmith who designed many posters and postcards featuring Royal Mail ships. Shoesmith was primarily a maritime painter and the majority of his posters depict ships, although he also designed posters for the British Rail Companies and the Canadian Pacific.