‘Ski sale’ to move travel posters

A 1938 Swiss travel poster promoting the unique combination of skiing and sunbathing would be unthinkable today. There's not a sign of sunblock as a mahogany-tanned man in shirtsleeves (above) reclines in a deckchair, smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee against a dramatic backdrop of skiers on snow-clad Alpine peaks. The poster, Winter in der Schweiz designed by Erich Hermès, is expected to sell for up to £5,000 (€6,575) at Christie's annual "ski" sale in South Kensington, London, on Thursday (January 21st).

The auction features almost 200 posters mainly relating to Swiss resorts. These are among the most collectable of all vintage travel posters and can be very valuable. The top lot in the sale – a poster of a skier in St Moritz, designed by Carl Moos – has a top estimate of £25,000 (€33,000).