Vintage Blackpool poster could sell for thousands

The advertising poster for Blackpool was designed by one of the most celebrated advertising and promotional artists of the time.

The painting, commissioned by the London Midland and Scottish Railway, depicts crowds on Blackpool’s central Promenade, with a view of the landmark Tower beyond.

A spokesman for Swann Auction Galleries explained the significance of the work, which is estimated to sell for between $2,000 and $3,000 dollars.

He said: “Fortunino Matania designed his first advert at the age of nine, going on to become not just a noted war artist, but also a designer for Hollywood.

“He created creating original paintings as base designs for Cecil B Demille’s epic The Ten Commandments.

“Here he is working in partnership with the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company in promoting tourist destinations, part of a wider trend followed by all of the main railway companies in the 1920s and ’30s.”

The Blackpool poster is just one of the items on sale at a vintage posters auction on August 2.

Joan Humble, from Blackpool Civic Trust was pleased to see the resort’s heritage celebrated.

She said: “There is a lot of interest in poster’s like this which celebrate the heyday of mass tourism in Blackpool. A lot of these works are artistic creations in their own right.”