British Council Collection
Mrs Phyllis Mabey donated this collection of over 300 posters to the British Council. In August 1977, she wrote: "I should be very glad to hand the collection to The British Council as a gift, as I feel sure that it could not be in better hands, and it will be kept as a collection and not broken up.I wish that the collection be preserved as an entity and that it should be known as the ALAN MABEY COLLECTION."
This collection was originally administered and toured by General Exhibitions Department whose work, over the years, became subsumed into Design Department. In 1996 the poster collection was handed over to Visual Arts Department.
The bulk of the collection covers the first half of the century and includes prime examples of London Transport posters from the 1920s and 30s designed by commercial artists such as Edward McKnight Kauffer, Tom Purvis and Frank Newbould, some 40 posters commissioned by Shell from artists such as Paul Nash, Graham Sutherland and Ben Nicholson, posters advertising various department stores, dry cleaners, hair styling products and the like. There are also a number of early theatre posters by Dudley Hardy and John Hassall, as well as advertising posters by Aubrey Beardsley for magazines. Since the bequest the collection was augmented by post-war works by leading British artists and designers acquired by General Exhibition Department.
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THE LONDON TRANSPORT COLLECTION GALA DAY AND COLLECTORS SALE 1976
William Fenton (1922 – )
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THE LONDON TRANSPORT COLLECTION 1976
William Fenton (1922 – )
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DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI 1973
Christopher Firmstone
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BALLET 1937
James Fitton (1899 – 1982)
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VARIETY FOR A CHANGE 1937
James Fitton (1899 – 1982)
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JANUARY PANTOMIME 1942
James Fitton (1899 – 1982)
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CHEESE AND BISCUITS 1965-1971
Crosby/Fletcher/Forbes, Alan Fletcher (1931 – 2006)
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FRUIT AND CREAM 1970
Alan Fletcher (1931 – 2006)
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THE IDLER 1898
Archibald Stevenson Forrest (1869 – 1963)
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ROMANCE 1925
Fougasse (1887 – 1965)
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KELLOG'S HERE COMES THE SUN
Larry Franklin
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THE BEGGAR'S OPERA BY MR GAY 1920
Claude Lovat Fraser (1890 – 1921)
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THE BEGGAR'S OPERA BY MR GAY 1920
Claude Lovat Fraser (1890 – 1921)
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15 INCH GUN TURRET, HMS REPULSE, AUGUST 1941 1941
Barnett Freedman (1901 – 1958)
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RIDE AHEAD WITH THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY 1949
Abram Games (1914 – 1996)
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KEEP BRITAIN TIDY 1963
Abram Games (1914 – 1996)
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COUNTRYWIDE SERVICE SHELL BP 1930S
Pat Gierth (1910 – )
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KING LEAR
Ginn Ginn Gilliam - Donald Cooper G&B Arts
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THE WAY ABOUT HEALS AT THE SIGN OF THE FOUR POSTER 1928
Robert Percy Gossop (1876 – 1951)
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BUILDING EXHIBITION OLYMPIA
Aubrey Hammond (1894 – 1940)