?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
KENNETH SHOESMITH ROYAL MAIL. Circa 1932. 39x24 1/2 inches. Condition B+: restoration along vertical and horizontal folds and in margins. The Asturias was put into service in 1927 "and in terms of her accommodation and public rooms, the decor and sheer artistry, was among the finest ships ever built" (http://www.users.on.net/snicol/cruising/4_interwar/index.html). 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 Company) 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. This poster appears to be a stock poster, having appeared in at least one other variation with German text
