NEW YORK, NY.- Swann Galleries' fall Rare & Important Travel Posters auction on Tuesday, November 25, saw a competitive showing from collectors, prompting several bidding wars and setting multiple records. Nicholas Lowry, Swann President and Vintage Poster Director noted: "In a crowded marketplace of poster auctions, this sale stood out with its competitively fought bidding, record prices, and overall sell-through rate. Our clients and collectors around the world have clearly come to rely on Swann for offering some of the most interesting, unusual, beautiful and scarce travel posters."

Among the records several established for David Klein's posters for TWA, including his iconic image of New York City, which shattered the previous, selling for $25,400, double the price of the last highest price paid (which was a record set at Swann just a few months ago at our New York Sale) and set an artist record for Klein; his poster for Los Angeles set a record for the image, selling for $5,842. Anthony Hansen's The Palisades of the Hudson / New York Central Lines sold for $7,620 beating its previous record; William Spencer Bagdatopoulus poster for Cunard sold for $5,280, setting a record for the artist; and two Ocean Liner posters by Themistokles von Eckenbrecher earned $7,620 and $3,302, both achieved record results, with one setting a high-water mark for any poster design by the artist.

Vintage posters for Air India, across the board, reflected incredible interest and achieved impressive results with each of the seven lots on offer finding buyers. Most notable of the group was V.V. Shetye's cheeky and ironic design featuring two tigers smoking over a stuffed Maharaja's head hanging on the wall above the fireplace. The work brought $3,556 against a $1,500 to $2,000 estimate. Another notable result was a charming poster inviting women to become stewardesses for TWA. With an estimated $400 to $600, the poster sold for $2,286.

Vintage posters advertising travel by rail were led by those showcasing New York City, including Leslie Ragan's The New 20th Century Limited / New York Central System, 1939, at $20,320; Chesley Bonestell's New York Central Building / At The Gateway To A Continent, 1930, at $11,430; and Harley Wood's New York / Go By Train / Pennsylvania Railroad, 1952, at $10,160.

The international travel posters were also prominent among the top 20 lots. Fred Taylor's rare Why Not Visit London for a Few Days, 1925, brought $7,620; Frantisek Cardos' Praha, 1937, earned $6,096; Roger Broders' Col Du Grand St. Bernard, 1927, saw $6,072; and Stefan Norblin's Polska Zakopane, circa 1925, sold for $4,752. Also represented were Zürich, San Sebastian, Côte d'Azur, Marseille, New Zealand and Australia, among many others.