Oct 25, 2018 - Sale 2490

Sale 2490 - Lot 26

Price Realized: $ 3,250
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 3,000 - $ 4,000
JAMES NORTHFIELD (1887-1973) TRAVEL BY - TRANS - AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY. Circa 1933.
39 3/4x25 1/4 inches, 101x64 cm. Northfield Studios & J.E. Hackett, [Melbourne.]
Condition B+: repaired tears at edges, some slightly into border; minor creases and staining in margins; light offsetting in upper image.
James Northfield and Percy Trompf were Australia's most popular and prolific poster designers. They each designed an image promoting the Trans-Australian Railway. Here, the train speeds past a man on a camel - previously the quickest way across the vast swaths of land between Australia's coasts. To show just how far the train travels, Northfield depicts the continent, almost cloud-like, in the background. The map serves as a stark white backdrop for the boldly-colored image (to distinguish it from just appearing like a cloud, Northfield has added three cities to the map). Trading Places 17, Northfield p. 132.