Look really hard at this poster. At a rough count the beach at Bridlington is inhabited by eighteen young women, four children, three donkeys, three young men, and one dog.
William H Barribal (1874 - 1952), Bridlington LNER poster, c.1925, 40 x 50 inches (quad royal)
This charming 1920s poster advertises Bridlington, a seaside town nestled in the shadow of Flamborough Head on the North Sea coast of Yorkshire, as a desirable holiday resort best visited via the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). Somehow this enigmatic British poster has found its way to a renowned poster dealer’s gallery and auction house in New York. This charming 1920s poster advertises Bridlington, a seaside town nestled in the shadow of Flamborough Head on the North Sea coast of Yorkshire, as a desirable holiday resort best visited via the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER). Somehow this enigmatic British poster has found its way to a renowned poster dealer’s gallery and auction house in New York. Under the auspices of Jack Rennert’s Poster Auctions International it is being offered for auction on the 28 July 2023 with an estimate of $8,000 - $10,000. https://auctions.posterauctions.com/lots/view/1-7N0I82/bridlington-1925
The poster is designed by the prolific illustrator and artist W.H (William Henry) Barribal. Born in Oswestry, Shropshire, in 1874, at the age of 16 he was apprenticed as a lithographic artist - I don’t know if he completed this apprenticeship and worked as a lithographic artist. Short Wikipedia style bios of Barribal suggest that he also studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, a popular private art school, although I cannot see his name amongst the alumni. In the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s Barribal gained a considerable reputation for his illustrations of beautifully clothed glamorous women – many of these using Gertrude, his wife, as a model.
Gertrude Louise Francis Barribal (née Pitt) (1880 - 1957)
Look again at the Bridlington poster and you will observe that almost all the young women depicted bear a close resemblance to each other. It is generally thought that these too were based on Gertrude, although at the time of this poster she was in her forties.
Original gouache illustration, 1914
He used the same pose many times - is this Gertrude?
Interestingly the poster was printed by John Waddington of Leeds, this being one of the foremost lithographic printing works outside London. In 1921 Waddington’s cleverly bound Barribal to a lucrative contract of £500 ‘salary’ [retainer], and £500 expenses (models, materials, studio, etc), with an option of continuing this agreement for a further twelve months (£500 roughly equal to £20,000 today). Waddington’s drove a hard bargain – getting Barribal to agree to the firm retaining full reproduction rights. The firm was renowned for obtaining printing rights for board games and, later on, jigsaw puzzles.
The early 1920s was also a boom period for playing cards. Waddington’s spotted this niche market and Barribal illustrated numerous sets, all featuring glamourous women. Some sets carried advertising, another profitable outlet for the printing company.
showcard c.1925
advertisement in national newspapers, 1924
Although contracted to Waddington's the agreement allowed him to take on illustration work for weekly and monthly journals
Advertisement for Ideas magazine
in Daily Mirror, 1923
The major part of Barribal's Bridlington poster would have been designed in his London studio, but he clearly shows observed detail of the promenade facing the South Sands, and the Spa Royal Hall in the background. Of course, as with virtually all the coastal resort LNER posters of the inter-war period, poster artists tended to depict an idyll of empty beaches, yellow sands, and blue skies. The reality can be seen in these postcards.
Bridlington beach, 1890s
Bridlington Spa, 1926
In conclusion I note that the poster archives of the National Railway Museum in York (Science Museum Group) do have a similar LNER poster by Barribal, advertising the open air swimming pool at Scarborough, another Yorkshire seaside resort. Again young women outnumber the young men!
William H Barribal, Scarborough LNER poster, c.1925
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