Classic 1908 ‘Electricity Fairy’ Poster Lights Up Auction, Selling for $25,000

During the 19th century, a series of revolutionary discoveries enabled electricity to be generated, harnessed, and sold, fundamentally changing the world.

The Electricity Fairy depicted in this 1908 poster by David Dellepiane (1866-1932) for an exposition in Marseille, France, astonished viewers. The dazzling allegorical figure, giving a human face to a physical phenomenon which by its very nature cannot be depicted, conveyed intimations of luxury and festive extravagance in ever greater measure. This stunning poster, 62 3/4 in. x 43 3/4 in., sold for $25,000 in November at Poster Auctions International, Inc., New York.

Exposition International d’Électricité, 1908.
Photo courtesy: Exposition International d’Électricité. 1908.

The advent of electric power and lighting coincided with the triumphant arrival of the art poster. It comes as no surprise, then, that progressive entrepreneurs frequently used this modern medium to win over public opinion. The Electricity Fairy’s theatrical pose and the hypnotic lighting effects high above the Marseilles exhibition ground give this poster by Dellepiane strong dramatic expressiveness. The effects of the light on the Fairy’s green body and the trailing clouds and plumes of smoke against the red sky are extremely subtle.

Dellpiane was a French painter, lithographer, and poster artist of Italian origin.

For more results from the poster sale, click here.

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The War of the Worlds Movie Poster Brings Thousands

Rare The War of the Worlds movie poster sells for nearly $22,000. Are you scared of Martians traveling in flat saucers with what looks like a bendable streetlamp? Well, the 1953 movie The War of the Worlds scared plenty of moviegoers. In brand-new “Technicolor,” no less. The movie, based on a story by H.G. Wells, spawned many space horror movies in the decades that followed. A remake did well in 2005 starring Tom Cruise. Movie poster fans (or just those who sold or gave away a similar poster) might be shaking from the price. One of only five known surviving British promotional film posters recently sold for almost $22,000. The poster, sold by the original owner who bought it in 1953 when the film was released, was sold through the British Ewbank’s auctions in its Vintage Posters sale. The 30-by-40-inch quad poster was made for the British release of the film.

Photo: Ewbank’s

 

 

 

 

Vintage Posters Still Have Timely Messages

Government-issued posters in the late 1930s and 1940s urged people to buy war bonds or to conserve on scarce resources like gasoline. But others had important health and safety tips, including some issued by the British Ministry of Health from 1939-1945, that ring true in 2020.  
 
Particularly pertinent today are four posters, ranging from 19 3/4 inches by 30 in. to 22 inches by 28 inches, recently sold at Cowan’s Auctions. The British posters with artwork by HM Bateman (1887-1970) between 1939-1945 feature cartoons of people coughing or sneezing while surrounded by concerned onlookers. Messages include, “Ministry of Health says: – / Coughs and sneezes spread diseases / Trap the germs by using your handkerchief / Help to keep the Nation Fighting Fit,” reminiscent of health warnings right now.  

The posters are from a lot of six posters that auctioned at Cowan’s for $813. The other two posters, not pictured, advertised Victory Gardens and the Red Cross.

 

 

 

 

Photos: Cowan’s Auctions