Healdsburg Antiques on the Plaza

Turn of the Century Poster for Paint, printed in France

Dear Clients and Friends,

Yay! It’s time for Healdsburg Antiques on the Plaza .  This Sunday, May 27^thwill be our ONLY appearance in the North Bay in 2012.  We have great posters to share with you, some we have never seen before .

Original Poster for Philips Transistor Radios

What do you like to do on the weekends?  Is it bicycle?

Taste wine?

Original Vintage poster for L’Echanson Wine, printed in France circa 1960 “The Wine for Every Day”

Or travel?

Original Vintage Poster “Spain, fly TWA” by David Klein

Whatever it is that you love to do, I bet we can find a poster that speaks to that joy!

Original United Nations Poster by Binder, printed for United Airlines

If you have original vintage posters in your home, you know that they bring history and color into your home, and that they are a focal point in any room. You also know that our collection is one of the largest on the left coast and that it is dynamic!  We sell posters, and then we never see some of them again, so its important if you are on the trail of something original and vintage for your wall,  that you visit with us often.

We have a shop now in Berkeley, it has been great fun for us to learn the new skills of curating a show in a gallery setting, but it has also made doing shows much more work than it used to be, when our business was solely show based.  As a result, we now limit the number of shows we exhibit at.

Original Poster by Metlicovitz for the Turin Fair of Industry and Labour, 1911

I hope you can make some time to visit with us in the cutest little town in the wine country.  And if you are in Berkeley, give us a shout, we’d love to see you here, always on Tuesdays, and by appointment.

With Every Good Wish,

Elizabeth, Charly and Emily

Vintage Poster Geeks

The Details

Healdsburg Antiques on the Plaza

Sunday May 24^th (one day only)

Town Square Between Center and Matheson Street

Central Healdsburg Exit from Hwy 101

Identity Statement

VINTAGE EUROPEAN POSTERS

Original Posters From 1880 To 1960

Member, International Vintage Poster Dealers Association

SHOWROOM:

2201 Fourth Street

Berkeley, California 94710

510.843.2201

vepca.com

ABOUT VINTAGE POSTERS

Original Posters have been collected for more than a century. Since their inception in the 1860s, the public has adored these eye-catching graphics and competed to own them. Early poster aficionados pulled posters from outdoor walls, read poster collecting magazines, and attended gallery exhibitions of poster art.

Today, if you develop a taste for original posters, you must search to find the ones you love. Spend time with a knowledgable dealer to gain an understanding of the historical and cultural context of posters. Buy what you love and you will be happy with your collection for years to come.

WHAT IS A VINTAGE POSTER?

Original posters were printed for advertising purposes. They were printed in the same time period in which they were designed. Posters were printed on cheap paper and not expected to last.

Because the posters are fragile, we have them linen backed. This is a conservation process. The posters are washed to deacidify the paper and wet mounted onto a fabric backing. This process is recommended by museums and is water reversible.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

We have been in the business of buying and selling original vintage posters since 1997.

Today, we operate a showroom in Berkeley, where we offer custom framing, linen backing, and host special events. Our entire inventory of original posters can be viewed at pop-up weekends and by appointment.

You can also see us at select shows in Los Angeles, Healdsburg and the SF Peninsula. Sign our mailing list to receive our newsletter, and invitations to special events in your area.

Our website vepca.com is updated weekly. Everything on our website is available and ships within 2 business days.

-Elizabeth Norris, Owner

Geek out with our blog: vepca.wordpress.com

subscribe to our mailing list at vepca.com to receive invites to pop up weekends and events in your area

A Short Biography of Marc Chagall

Original Exhibition Poster "Hommage a Fernand Mourlot" by Jirlow, printed by Atelier Mourlot, Paris in 1990

Marc Chagall (1887-1985)

Marc Chagall lived a life that spanned the 20^th century.  He was born in Vitebsk, a  Russian Jewish ‘Shtetl” or village in 1887,  and his young life was made up of family, village, and farm.  His desire to become an artist brought him first to St. Petersburg in 1907and then to Paris where the arts were flourishing. in 1910.  To earn money, he worked as a servant and a sign painter.  Chagall’s paintings were first exhibited in Paris in 1912 when the artist was only 25 years old. His early paintings are rich with imagery from his childhood, chickens, goats, church windows, and throughout his career he revisits the warm and pastoral village that shaped him in a style referred to as naïve realism.

Original Exhibition Poster by Marc Chagall "Menton" printed in Paris by Fernand Mourlot in 1968

Chagall spent WWI back in his native Russia, where he married Bella in 1915. After the war, the two of them spent time in Berlin and settled in Paris where they spent the 1920s enjoying the life of a successful artist in the ‘city of light’.

Chagall was friends with the influential editor and dealer Ambroise Vollard who commissioned him to create book illustrations in the 1920s, and encouraged Chagall to explore the themes of the circus and the bible in his paintings. In 1931, Vollard commissioned Chagall to create 100 etchings depicting the bible, and so The artists and his wife visited Syria and Palestine for inspiration.

"Vitraux Pour Jerusalem" by Marc Chagall Original Exhibition Poster printed in Paris in 1961 printer Fernand Mourlot

Chagall spent time in the South of France, moving to Gordes in Provence in 1940.  He loved the light, the flowers and the landscapes of the South of France, and these inform his work from this period and going forward. For a second time, the war interrupted his path, and Chagall, Bella and their daughter Ida avoided the occupation by emigrating to the United States at the invitation of the NY Museum of Modern Art. Tragically, Bella died of pneumonia in the states in 1944.

After the war, Chagall settled again in South of France, this time in Vence, Nice where he revisited the themes of the bible, the circus, his childhood, Judaism in his work.  In 1950, at the age of 63, he began to work with the esteemed printer Mourlot in Paris, there he with studied with master lithographer Charles Sorlier. and explored color lithography. “Chagall wrote in 1960, “When I held a lithographic stone or a copperplate in my hand I thought I was touching a talisman. It seemed to me that I could put all my joys and sorrows in it..Everything that touched my life through the years, births, deaths, weddings, flowers, animals, birds, the poor workers, my parents, lovers in the night, the biblical prophets, on the street, at home, in the temple and in heaven. And as I grew older, the tragedy of life within us and around us.”*

"Offrande a Tour Eiffel" by Marc Chagall

Chagall’s embrace of the medium of color lithography is apparent in his work. When working in this medium, artists traditionally begin with a black outline and then produce subsequent color plates.  Chagall built layer upon layer with pure color and the resulting lithographs are so dense that they resemble paintings, with color so lush, it looks as if you could scrape it off the page.

In 1952 Chagall was commissioned to illustrate the pastoral romance of Daphnis and Chloe. That year, he married for a second time to Vava, On their honeymoon, they explored Greece where they fell in love with the ancient story of Daphnis and Chloe. Chagall returned home to Nice and began to work on the series.  In 1958, he was commissioned by the Paris Opera House to create sets and costumes for the ballet of Daphnis and Chloe.  The artist worked closely with the director and the dancers, and his paintings were informed by this. It is interesting to note that the first poster designer, Jules Cheret, studied the dancer Loie Fuller and brought her graceful visage to posters in 1891.  Alphonse Mucha designed stage sets, costumes and jewelry, and Eugene Grasset created wallpaper and volumes of botanical illustration.

"Le Lecon de Philetas" Original Chagall Exhibition Poster printed in Paris by Atelier Mourlot in 1987

For the remainder of his career, Chagall continued to create beautiful and rich paintings and lithographs filled with mysticism, folklore, romance, the bible, the circus, landscapes , musicians, Russian Judaism.  He was an unparalleled colorist, and was admired for his skill as a painter and a print maker.  He courageously embraced new techniques throughout career and was rewarded with many opportunities and honors.

Chagall was considered to be the ‘last survivor of the first generation of American Modernists’.  Born in 1877, Chagall lived through two wars, made his home in 5 countries and witnessed the impressionists, the fauvists, the symbolists, the surrealists, and the birth of modern art. In 1973, When Chagall was 86 years old, The Musee de Chagall opened in Nice.  Five years later in 1977, The Louvre, which rarely exhibited the work of a living artist , featured  62 his works.

Picasso said “When Matisse dies Chagall will be the only painter alive who understands what color really is.” With the death of Chagall in 1985, the world lost it’s finest colorist. *

*Marc Chagall Printmaker” by James Healy, 2002 from the Weinstein Gallery

Visit our website and click on view the collection select ‘art exhibitions’  to see our new acquisitions.  All of these posters are original art exhibition posters, printed by the esteemed printer Fernand Mourlot.  All are linen backed archivally and can be shipped worldwide.

Luxury Problems

Winter always finds me dreaming of travel.  This year, we are definitely going back to Europe.  We are overdue to visit with friends, and there are posters, there are always posters to be tracked down.

I think the trip will go like this:

Original San Francisco Via TWA poster

We always have to fly out of San Francisco.  Sigh,  When will Oakland become a real international airport?  Oh well.  Love the architecture of the I.M. Pei designed SFO International terminal.

Germany Fly TWA Jets by David Klein

This time, we will fly into Germany, and rather than simply going thru customs there, will actually leave the airport and visit with friends. We are hoping to see some great architecture, some castles, visit salt mines, and go on ski runs in the sun.

I have to figure out the train schedule to see what our next move will be. But we will definitely spend time in Paris with our family who lives  there.

Original Paris Air France Poster with L'Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysee

While my children have been to France a number of times, I am determined that they know the names of all of the monuments, so we are going to do a tourist trip, an attempt to touch everything from L’Arc de Triomphe Carrosel to Arc De Triomphe L’Etoile.  Of course we will be stopping for Jardin de Luxembourg, Tuileries, L’Orangerie, the Bateaux Mouche, The Promenade Plantee, Opera, Rue de Rivoli, Bois de Boulogne, Place des Vosges, the Marais, and more.

Original Air France Poster "Paris Gateway to Europe"

I can only take so much of any city in the hot summer, so after 4 or 5 days in Paris, we will head to the country.

Original travel poster, circa 1920 "Aix en Provence" by Feguide

Where, it will, without fail, also be hot.  We have enjoyed exploring Provence in the past,  where the wind or “Le Mistral” picks up in the afternoon, howling like a banshee and making the shutters crash if not battened down.  On our last trip we visited Ardeches, saw the incredible rock formation, and swam in the cold river.  Provence offers a rich experience of the past.  The villages are heartbreakingly beautiful, with houses of stone, winding cobbled streets, wooden shutters, window boxes and planters stuffed with roses and pelargoniums.

Original poster from the S.N.C.F. "Provence" by Yves Brayer

The landscape of Provence is made up of chalky, craggy hillsides, dotted with olive trees and surrounded by fields of lavender and sunflowers.  There are ruins on many hills, old fortresses built into the hills, with vantage points in every direction, overgrown stone stairs, and crumbling turrets. You also find restored castles, full of art and tapestry, furniture, weapons and gift shops.  For these you will pay admission.

Now that we know where we are headed, one big choice remains.  Should we fly Air France or United Airlines?

Original "United Airlines San Francisco" poster by Stan Galli

Original "Paris Air France" poster by Vernier

Don’t miss our Pop-Up Weekend September 24-25

Dear Clients and Friends, Poster Collectors, Ephemera Fans,

I hope you are enjoying this incredible Indian Summer. As Northern Californians, of course you know that fall is right on its tail.  In just a few short days, the sun will set earlier, the leaves will start to turn on your apple trees, and all of a sudden, your thoughts will turn from spending time outdoors to spending time in your home.

It’s time to feather your nest.  Add things to your walls that make it a nicer place to come home to, a nicer place to entertain in. Just in time, we announce our September Pop- Up Weekend.

Please join us this weekend September 24-25 at our Berkeley showroom for what we are calling “French Treat” a special feature of Food and Wine Posters.  Our entire collection will also be available for your perusal, and we are always prepared to help you design the perfect frame for your purchase.

The shop is open only one weekend per month, so now is your chance to come and choose the perfect thing to spruce up your nest for the holidays and the winter months.  Frames designed this weekend will be completed by November 1, well in time for the winter holidays.

You can shop our collection any time at www.vepca.com, but seeing the posters in person is the best way to fall in love with your next piece of original artwork.  I hope you’ll join us for a toast this weekend! Sponsored by wine.com

With Every Good Wish,

Elizabeth, Charly, Karlie and Candie
The VEP Crew

THE DETAILS
September Pop-Up Weekend
Saturday September 24 from 11-6
Sunday, September 25 from 11-5

VEP ‘Outpost’
2201 Fourth Street (corner of Allston)
Berkeley, CA  94710
510.843.2201
www.vepca.com

Also open by appointment