The tourist marketing posters of our fledgling nation have become icons, which fetch fat sums at auction. But Robert Love, who has one on his wall , knows how to get the effect for less
A vibrant international collectors' market exists for original poster prints - and Irish travel posters are among the most sought-after examples. There are many reasons. Travel posters are extremely visually appealing, often closer to art than advertising. They were painted by top artists, and the lithographic print process utilised guaranteed high-quality images.
The posters offer unique, nostalgic and historical perspectives on popular scenery and social pursuits. Because the views depicted are usually of established tourist attractions, potential buyers include locals and those who holidayed in the areas and retain a fond memory of the location. Then there's the rarity factor. Though many striking Irish scenes were captured by the country's leading artists during the 1920s and 1930s, few are to be seen in public places today.
Nicolette Tompkinson, who heads the poster department at London auction house, Christies, recently oversaw a major sale that included 30 Irish examples. The Internet now allows people from all over the world to view and bid on auctions, a development which is encouraging both interest and prices.
"People collect posters with a specific theme or from a particular area, and Irish travel posters are very popular," Tompkinson says. "Though the travel posters are beautiful, they were designed as advertisements and printed on poor quality paper. The vast majority were put up on walls and plastered over with other posters. They were never meant to be kept, and those that survive are exceptionally rare and very collectible." Prices vary depending on condition and rarity, and Christies welcome inquiries from those wishing to buy or sell.
Original posters featuring Ireland are unlikely to be had for less that €500. Would-be buyers can expect some surprises. Paul Henry's famed Connemara poster, at around €1,200, is about half as valuable as an anonymous and poorer-quality poster depicting 1920s Bundoran. The Donegal image is of an elegant lady striking a ball off a tee as a plus-fours-clad companion looks on. Christies say that period fashion on the fairways is very saleable. That said, it could be argued that the Paul Henry poster is good value - a similar view of Connemara sold at an auction in September by Whytes in Dublin made €105,000.
For those who shudder at such prices, the Internet offers an affordable alternative. Richard Price-Stephens has sold almost 500 reproductions of Irish travel posters on the ebay.com site in just over a year of trading. Price-Stephens has no background in travel posters but became a fan and started the business after discovering some original Irish ones in a transport museum near his home.
"I have a passion for these posters," he says. "I have decorated the walls of my home with them because they provide something different and interesting. The quality of the posters is the same everywhere but the Irish ones particularly appeal to me because I am Irish and they remind me of how lucky we are to have such beautiful countryside around us."
Price-Stephens has sourced original posters from around the world. After attending to copyright issues, he scans them and uses digital technology to restore the image. Reprints on high-quality paper with a 25-year guarantee cost around €30. He advises that the posters look best when mounted and framed using a narrow moulding.
When considering the power of these posters, it's easy to forget that the Irish Government once faced the same challenges as the North still does. When the fledgling Free State was trying to attract tourists, Ireland had repeatedly hit international headlines through the armed campaign for independence and the bloody civil war that followed it. Poster-power helped change its image.
By the 1920s, railway companies faced a growing tourist market as more workers achieved paid holidays. The companies wanted new marketing ideas that could capture the public imagination. The decision of one railway company to ask acclaimed artist Norman Wilkinson's advice would place the travel poster firmly at the heart of the travel trade.
Posters produced by Wilkinson and other artists had instant appeal. Other railway companies were soon commissioning dozens of new scenes to promote destinations from Dingle to Derry, and print runs of each one could number from a few hundred to thousands.
Paul Henry's international reputation was largely acquired as a result of one of his earliest posters. Based on his painting of Connemara, which was distributed widely in Europe and North America by the railway company in 1925, it showed a beautiful, unspoilt but desolate landscape waiting to be discovered by city-based tourists. In an unprecedented development, almost 1,000 members of the public contacted the company to request and purchase their own copy. The Irish Times gushed in 1925: "If thousands of people in Great Britain and America have been led this summer to think over the claims of Ireland as a holiday ground, it is largely through the lure of Mr Paul Henry's glowing landscape of a Connemara scene."
Some 80 years on, Henry's travel posters continue to offer stark but hauntingly beautiful images. Amazingly, they still retain the power to inspire the viewer to head outdoors and visit the sights they feature. Quite a marketing feat.
www.irelandposters.com, http://stores.ebay.com/Ireland-posters