?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 500 - $ 750
MAURICE BECK (1886-1960) PETROL TAX. 1931. 40x25 1/4 inches, 101 1/2x64 cm. John Swain & Son Ltd., London. Condition A-: wrinkles and creases in margins and image. Paper. An extraordinary montage of photographed letters and numbers designed by Maurice Beck. He was both a designer and a photographer, often incorporating photography into his work. In the 1920s he was the head photographer for British Vogue, and he is credited with designing 18 posters for the Underground, all photomontages. One in a series of four posters based on the unusual premise of informing the public how much "the Underground group (U.E.R.L.) pays in petrol tax. The information highlights the success of the company, still profitable in spite of so many taxes, and the fact that U.E.R.L. contributes significantly to the Treasury and therefore to the London's economy" (http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk).
