Railroad Ski Posters, ca. 1940
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GUEST:
These posters belonged to my father. They're part of a collection. He grew up in northern Minnesota. Of course, he loved to ski. Over the years, he just started writing away and accumulating what we have before us. My, ah, grandfather owned a short line railroad in northern Minnesota-- the MRL and M, Minneapolis Red Lake Manitoba-- and so hence the railroad connection. They rode the rails as children and adults, so many of my posters do have a railroad affiliation.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, they do. Both of these, the Union Pacific and the Canadian Pacific, are posters that were issued by the railroad in order to get people to ride the trains along their route. They weren't necessarily promoting skiing, per se; they were promoting train travel. Sun Valley was founded and formed in the 1930s by Averell Harriman, who was actually the chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad. And he thought rather cleverly that if we can give people something to do on the train trip from New York to California, they're going to ride the trains more. So they basically created the resort of Sun Valley just for that reason. It's interesting, the artist is Austrian-- August Moser. To the best of my understanding, it was early on in the American ski tourism industry. They had to go to Europe, where there was a longer tradition of travel posters featuring ski areas, and so they chose an Austrian artist.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Well, we know the approximate date, mid-1930s for the Sun Valley poster. The Canadian Pacific poster is roughly the same era, probably a little bit closer to 1940. It's anonymously done, as were many of the posters for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Skiing posters are very, very popular. And originally, these were just considered railway advertisements. And many years ago, they could have been bought quite cheaply by people who were railway enthusiasts. Nowadays, as ski memorabilia, they've become more and more sought after. The more valuable of the two is the one that's closer to me. What makes a ski poster most desirable is the ski resort that it's promoting.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
Location, location, location. And in the world of ski posters, Sun Valley really is one of the marquee locations. Now, the poster next to you has come up for auction several times in the last decade. And at auction, it sells for between $1,500 and $2,000. Now, the poster closest to me, which we can date to between 1933 and 1936 based only on the Union Pacific logo…
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
…And I have to point out that Sun Valley first began operating in 1936, so that makes this one of the earliest…
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRASIER: …Of the Sun Valley posters. At auction, I would estimate this poster between $4,000 and $6,000. And I have to say that in the last 12 years, it's only come up for auction twice, which is an indication of its rarity. And the last time it came up for auction, it sold for more than $10,000.
GUEST:
Oh my gosh.
APPRAISER:
Yours is not in great condition. The colors are a little bit faded, and there are some creases that you can see in the top corners. So the two of these, estimated between $5,500 and $8,000.
GUEST:
Wow. Thank you.
APPRAISER:
You're welcome.
GUEST:
That's wonderful. (chuckles) I will treasure them more.
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