A strikingly beautiful travel poster displaying a large white swan together with the little (ugly) duckling.
I guess many of us are familiar with the story "The Ugly Duckling" written by the great fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. This mid-century travel poster is encouraging people to visit his birthplace - the city of Odense in Denmark.
The poster artist is Viggo Vagnby (1896-1966) - a Danish cartoonist and poster artist who originally debuted as a cubist painter. He further trained in drawing in France in the 1920s and started his own firm to work with advertising images and exhibition architect in Denmark. He made several famous tourist posters like the "Skagen poster" from 1955 depicting a plaice like a painter's palette. Vagnby's most famous poster is the poster "Wonderful Copenhagen" from 1953. This iconic tourist poster shows a traffic constable who stopped pedestrians, cyclists, cars and trams on a Copenhagen street to let a little family of duck undisturbed across the street.
The poster was made in the hey days of "Danish Modern" which is seen in the stylistic graphical design and clear choice of colors. Furthermore, this poster is one the most famous and iconic travel posters from Denmark ever produced.
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Artist: Viggo Vagnby (signed in print)
Print: Lithography (print by Hagen & Sørensen a/s)
Dimensions: 24.2 x 39.2 in (61.5 x 99.5 cm)
Condition: Good condition - one tear in the top, smaller pinholes around the edges, a little piece of paper is missing in the lower right corner, a few very small stains on the big swan and light wear on the edges - please see pictures.
Country: Denmark
Thanks for watching and please let me know if you have any questions.
