About Us
Welcome!
AntikBar is the London gallery specialising in original vintage posters from around the world: travel, advertising, sport, cinema, war, propaganda (with a selection of avant garde books and magazines, antique maps and prints). We offer worldwide delivery, collection advice, consultancy and search on demand services for collectors, individual clients and interior designers, as well as linen backing and poster restoration services with our partners at Poster Mountain in California. We take part in various events during the year and host regular poster auctions, exhibitions and other events at our gallery.
AntikBar is a Member of the International Vintage Poster Dealers Association (IVPDA) and the Association of Art and Antique Dealers (LAPADA).
AntikBar Gallery: 404 King’s Road, Chelsea, London SW10 0LJ
Website: www.AntikBar.co.uk
Linen Backing & Restoration Services: www.antikbar.co.uk/poster_restoration/
You can also follow @AntikBar on:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/antikbar
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/antikbar
Facebook: www.facebook.com/antikbar.co.uk
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About Us
My interest in original vintage poster art and graphic design started in 1993 when I saw an exhibition poster for The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde 1915-1932 at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The boldness and sheer visual impact of the image, the composition and bold, bright colours made a lasting impression on me and I decided to look into acquiring some works from that period.
Posters are a true form of art with a purpose as they were designed to deliver a particular message through striking designs. These original vintage posters were created to grab the attention of passers-by, presenting artists with the challenge of condensing the message or a concept into a precise, short visual and written form in a single artwork. They are important items of social history that capture the essence of the time they were printed. Original vintage posters are recognised as a sound art investment that can be enjoyed every day.
Posters were elevated to an art form by French artists at the end of the 19th century. Struggling to make living, they supplemented their income by designing posters. The standards set by the French poster designers raised the bar for other countries and led to a wider acceptance of this media by the art community. Being very topical, posters absorbed and reflected the prevailing and changing art styles and fashions at a rapid pace and became part of the avant-garde art movement.
Practically all of the posters found on our website are lithographs. This is a method of printing that involves carving each colour of the image onto a piece of stone. The poster sheet is then imprinted consecutively with a stone slab for each colour, creating a stunning and rich image. With the exception of silk printing, I believe that other printing techniques do not deliver the same impact of colour as lithography.
Please contact us if you would like some more information and collection advice. We also give talks and have produced an “Introduction to Collecting Posters” booklet, which is available at our gallery and online.
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For more information, please visit our website at www.AntikBar.co.uk
or visit us at our gallery: AntikBar, 404 King’s Road, London SW10 0LJ
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