British Society of Poster Designers

The British Society of Poster Designers was formed in 1926 and boasted many members. The magazine Commercial Art in its July 1928 edition mentions this obscure Society. The article discussed what was probably the one and only exhibition held at the Royal Institute Galleries in 1928. Many well-known artists were represented and the exhibition also displayed press advertisements and booklet covers. Designers whose work is singled out for special praise include Tom Purvis, Frank Newbould, Fred Taylor, Frank Brangwyn, Kenneth Shoesmith, Norman Wilkinson, C. Kenneth Bird (Fougasse), Freda Lingstrom, Dorothy Burroughes, Steven Spurrier, Lillian Hocknell, W.H. Barribal, E.A. Cox and Charles Paine. The author is somewhat dismissive of the work exhibited by E McKnight Kauffer - "I do not feel that McKnight Kauffer's work has the quality of popular appeal, or that his more recent experiments are as satisfactory as his earlier decorative designs". In addition to the names mentioned above, the article is illustrated with designs by C.R.W. Nevinson, Charles Pears, Odin Rosenvinge, George Sheringham, A van Anrooy, H.G. Gawthorn, Frank H. Mason, Norman Wilkinson, MacDonald Gill, Austin Cooper, Andrew Johnson, Aldo Cosomati, Percy Telford, Marie Stocquart, R.T. Cooper, Gordon Nicoll, Reginald S. Higgins, Christopher Clark, John Waddington and Graham Petrie. The article also includes an account of the aims of the British Society of Poster Designers which basically is to improve the lot of both artist and client, a fair deal for both.

Image(s) below (click to enlarge):