Tuesday 1 November 2016

1960 Tretchikoff Brochure

"Tretchikoff achieved what Andy Warhol stated he wanted to but never could because of his coolness."   -  Wayne Hemingway

I'd like to share some interesting scans of my Tretchikoff catalogue from 1960, sometime after his first major U.S. shows but before the release of some of his more famous artworks such as 'Penny Whistlers' and 'Miss Wong' 

Frost & Reed were the distributors for Tretchikoff prints in the UK and must have done a good job as he remains one of the most commercially successful artists ever. 
This particular brochure was left with 'Treasure Trove' in Newquay, Cornwall, happily still trading as Cornwall Galleries.  There's an order page inside back cover, designed to be filled in and torn out, happily it never has been and still has the shop stamp.

Here are the scans.......










It's interesting that no framing options are included.  Did these come with a standard frame or were the retailers expected to frame them themselves (hence the framing variations and different labels on the back of the same print)? 
We usually have several vintage Tretchikoff prints instore in our shop Space in Harrogate, UK.  Call for more info 01423 709941.
We currently have an original glazed copy of the brochure cover picture 'Lost Orchid' instore.

Here's the second Frost & Reed Tretchikoff catalogue produced in 1962. This has caused a little confusion as I've seen my, earlier, brochure attributed to 1962. Tretchikoff had experienced huge success in the few years inbetween so it's reasonable to assume the earlier brochure is a little rarer.

Feel free to comment if you have any more information, thanks.

Wednesday 27 July 2016

Acapulco Vs Crystal Tipps Vs Gaytime


The late 1960's were a heyday for 'out-there' design.

The psychedelic music. fashions and artwork of the underground scene inevitably spilled out into mainstream design and were incorporated into everyday products.

English Ironstones Beefeater plates are a great example relatively easy to find today


Have a look at the full range here.. Psychedelic Bull Plates. There was a very prehistoric looking fish range too!

Today, though, we're looking at two remarkably similar ceramic ranges that seem to have had their own spin off cartoon series.
Source

In 1967 Villeroy & Boch released their Acapulco design into the wild...a pattern so eyecatchingly bright and vivid it's become an iconic image in the world of retro.
The shape, by Ludwig Scherer, had been used before but the design, by Christine Reuter inspired by a Mexican holiday, was something new, and here it was available in cups, saucers, coffee pots and even kettles and fondue sets. 



Here is one of the coffee pots, along with a milk jug, that's just come into Space
           Villeroy & Boch Acapulco







Gorgeous, aren't they?  Although, I can't help thinking, would you want to eat your dinner from one of these plates?

The line was revived in the 1980's (with a brown base mark instead of blue) and has recently been redesigned and made available again as
             NewWave Acapulco






Around the same time (well, you know, perhaps just a little bit later!) , Lord Nelson Pottery in the UK, were producing Gaytime, another huge range of white china with a psychedelic bird and flower design.
Source
A coincidence? Probably not, the name of the designer has been lost to time and the pottery long since closed but this is easily the funkiest thing they ever did in their long years of production.
A few years later in the early 70's, this happened...

Crystal Tipps and Alistair was possibly the weirdest cartoon ever. A young girl with huge purple hair and a mini dress and a big grey double jointed dog.  Created by Hilary Hayton and Graham McCallum they got up to various adventures every 5.40 for 50 episodes from 1972 with the colours and styling making Magic Roundabout look like a Party Political Broadcast.
Regular friends were a trippy bird and butterfly bearing more than a passing resemblance to the Acapulco design, especially when hiding  in the vegetation shown here in a tie-in book.

Are there designs around now that will so fondly remembered in 50 years time?

Here's the birds together (I've thrown in a Carlton Ware money box for good measure)