1,328 Vintage Posters in the Second Auction of the Dr. Hans Sachs Collection
New York, NY—October 21, 2013—On November 22-24, Guernsey’s will be conducting the second of three auctions of the legendary Dr. Hans Sachs Poster Collection. The event will be held live at New York City’s Bohemian National Hall while absentee bidders will have multiple options for participating.
The Collection, assembled from the late 1800’s through the 1930’s by Dr. Sachs, was thought destroyed by the Nazis when its owner was thrown into a concentration camp in 1938. Following the recent discovery of the Collection in the vaults of a Berlin museum, more than four thousand posters were consigned to Guernsey’s by the Sachs family while the balance will be gifted to several museums.
Earlier this year, the first of the three Sachs Auctions was conducted. More than twenty museums competed along with collectors, dealers and many others who were attracted to the posters because of their beauty, graphic power and/or their meaningful connection to the Holocaust. The works of many prominent artists are featured in these historic posters, some of which are the only known surviving examples.
The Collection covers such categories as art (including very sought after posters from the Secession art movement), propaganda, travel, entertainment (dining, cabarets, theater and early film), products (from cigarette to automobiles), sports and war, with most examples either in German, French, Italian, Russian or English. Since the first Auction, several museum exhibitions—from Miami to the Netherlands—have been held featuring posters that will be sold in November as well as the additional thirteen hundred examples to be sold in the final installment (early in 2014) of this unprecedented auction series.
Those wishing to order the comprehensive Auction Catalogues (for the upcoming and/or past event) or get more complete information need only contact Guernsey’s in NYC at 212-794-2280.
First image: PLI16945, Lot #2030. Jacob Doeser, 1916. The Dutch artist Doeser created this eye catching poster for a student theater event. The visible strokes of lithographic crayon bring energy to the majestic pelican and its surroundings. The vibrantly colored pelican stands tall and wears a royal blue ribbon with a tiny gentleman as its pendant.
Second image: PLI16672, Lot #2128. Lucian Bernhard, 1906-1914. This striking poster is a prime example of esteemed German Jewish artist Lucian Bernhard's graphic style. The elements of the poster are reduced to the title of the product and the product itself. The riders’ scarves trail behind them in the wind as the automobile propels forward, leaving the mountains behind. This poster is one of more than eighty that have been featured at the Dutch Poster Museum’s exhibition entitled, “Saved from the Nazis, the Poster Collection of Dr. Hans Sachs.”
