John Held, Jr. was the most popular and highest-paid illustrator of the jazz age. Two of his travel posters were featured in the Swann Galleries sale of November 15, 2010. The sales results show that he still retains quite a bit of appeal. "The Enchanted Isle" is Martha's Vineyard which was and still is accessible by ferry from Cape Cod. At the time, the sensible way to get to the Cape was by train. In 1935, the year after this poster was published, the Sagamore and Bourne bridges were opened, allowing passenger cars access to the Cape over the Cape Cod Canal and everything changed. By 1937, passenger train service to the towns east of Dennis was ended forever. Today the tracks have been removed and the Cape Cod Rail Trail accommodates bicycles and riders on horseback.
Sale 2230 Lot 179
JOHN HELD, JR. (1889-1958) THE ENCHANTED ISLE / MARTHA'S VINEYARD. 1934.
41 3/4x28 inches, 106x71 cm. Plampin Litho Co., N.Y.C.Condition A-: repaired tear through bottom margin.
"In 1924, [The New Haven Railroad] commissioned New York City artist John Held, Jr. to design a series of posters selling New England resorts and vacations . . . Held, a well known delineator of eastern establishment culture whose Vanity Fair and Life magazine illustrations and cartoons introduced two of the era's defining caricatures--the happy-go-lucky flapper and her straw-hatted guy, Joe College-- proved a prescient choice. His New Haven designs talked to the new, jazzy cultural elite" (Zega p. 63). Zega p. 66.
Estimate $5,000-7,500
Sold for $4,200
Sale 2230 Lot 178
JOHN HELD, JR. (1889-1958) THE NEW HAVEN R.R. / NORTHWARD. Circa 1930.
41 3/4x28 inches, 106x71 cm. Plampin Litho Co., N.Y.C.Condition B+: repaired tears at edges, some affecting image; minor restoration in margins.
In his classic cartoon form, Held shows golfers, flappers and others, all heading "northward," much like migrating ducks, which he also presents. The New Haven Railroad was an essential means of transportation in New England, and "at its peak in 1929, the railroad owned and operated 2,131 miles of track throughout New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island." Held p. 91, Zega 65.
Estimate $1,500-2,000
Sold for $2,600
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| John Held, Jr.A Beautifully Engrossed Map of Summer Play Land |
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| John Held, Jr. Swann Galleries August 3, 2016 Hammer Price |
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| John Held, Jr.Have a Real Vacation! Romp in Rhode Island |
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| John Held, Jr. Swann Galleries August 3, 2016 Hammer Price |
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