Travel posters, particularly those from the 1920/50s are still a comparatively cheap way of acquiring the work of well known Irish artists such as Paul Henry, Maurice Wilks, Hugo d’Alesi and Norman Wilkinson. While prices have increased steeply in recent years with a Paul Henry poster of Lough Derg now costing anything up to €2,000 the original work would cost a six-figure sum. Some posters are now almost as rare as the original with few surviving – they were, after all, supposed to be pasted on to railway station noticeboards! A poster dating from circa 1900, commissioned by the Midland, Great Western Railway Company, featuring a spectacular montage of West of Ireland scenes by the artist F.Hugo d’Alesi fetched €3,500 at auction in England in 2001 – believed to be a record for an Irish travel poster.

Several companies now offer full size reproductions of classic posters, of varying quality, but they are a poor substitute for the original and have little or no resale value.

Gallery 29 offers an enormous range of original travel posters as well as general Irish & European advertising posters from the 1890s to the 1970s displayed in an Art Gallery style setting. Lithographic posters represent a seriously good investment and, properly looked after, will appreciate in value over the coming years. Be warned however, as these beautiful items are ‘must-haves’ and if you are bitten by the bug you’ll need to have deep pockets!

Gallery 29,

29 Molesworth Street, Dublin.2.

Tel: (01) 642 5784

Website: http://www.gallery29.ie/

Open: Tues/Sat. 10am-6pm