Sale 2459 - Rare & Important Travel Posters, October 26, 2017

DAVID KLEIN (1918-2005) 226 c NEW YORK / FLY TWA. Circa 1960. 40 1 / 4 x24 1 / 2 inches, 102 1 / 4 x62 1 / 4 cm. Condition B+: restored loss in lower left corner; restoration along repaired tears and creases at edges, some affecting image; restoration and creases along vertical and horizontal folds. A bright, abstract, kaleidoscopic view of Times Square, with its billboards, lights, traffic, energy and excitement depicted in Day-Glo, electric colors that further convey the visual splendor of the city. Originally issued in 1956, the poster featured a detailed image of a TWA Constellation. The image was so popular that the airline reused it when it fully entered the Jet Age, changing the image to feature the silhouette of a jet plane. One year after it was first issued, a copy of this poster was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art for their permanent collection. Klein was a painter, illustrator and a graphic designer who is best remembered for the exceptional series of images he designed for Trans World Airlines beginning in the mid-1960s. He also designed theater and movie posters, and in the 1970s, created five posters for Amtrak. This is the larger format. Metzl p. 166 (var), Airways p. 148 (var), MoMA 329.1957. [3,000/4,000] DAVID KLEIN (1918-2005) 227 c NEW YORK / FLY TWA. Circa 1960. 24 3 / 4 x15 1 / 2 inches, 63x39 1 / 2 cm. Condition A-: minor creases and tears at edges; tape residue on verso. Paper. This is the smaller format. Metzl p. 166 (var), Airways p. 148 (var). [800/1,200] 227