The wall, the advertiser and the designer : article by "Dec" in Advertising Display magazine, August 1927:

            During my career in design at London Underground one of the more fraught subjects for discussion was the pull between architectural design and "purity" versus commercial revenue from advertising and we went to great lengths to ensure that valuable campaigns did not stray into problematic issues such as safety or being visually 'overwhelming' or distracting to passengers. Needless to say the latter was the one theat advertisers most notably wanted, unsurprisingly, to achieve! It was often recalled that this debate had been present in the Underground Group nealry a century before as this article from Advertising Display in August 1927 shows.

When Piccadilly Circus station's redevelopment was opened in 1928 the area above the escalators was decorated by a vast fresco by in oil paintings by artist Stephen Bone. The philosopical 'tussle' that Frank Pick and Charles Holden, amongst others, went through was often with regard to applied art rather than art being an inherent part of the architectural design - as in the scultpures carved in-situ on the façade of 55 Broadway in 1929. Quite what was the intention of the Bone frescos, or the outcome of the debate, is a subject for some discussion but by the early 1930s they were replaced by a vast advert for Ovaltine; perhaps a sign that even in London Underground revenue overcame artisitic scruples. I have heard that the Bone frescos failed rapidly due to damp and water ingress and that, if I am honest, would not surprise me.

The other 'well-known' advertiisng murals, of which pictures are seen, are of the ones at Bank Station (Central line) around the head of the esclators. These, for Remington typewriters and Ripolin Paint, are discussed int his article and the paintings by Mary Adshead are shown. Perhaps Ripolin provided better paint as these seem to have had great longevity. Quite when they 'went' I do not know; the contract may have expired and required 'removal' as would be the case now but besides that this area at Bank was completely lost in the WW2 bombing during the Blitz with consequent loss of life.

The others shown here, and less frequently seen, are the "Golden Glory" friezes over the escalators at the newly reconstructed Bond Street station where they replaced the original lifts. These adverts were for Pears Soap. Oddly the artist is not given here. Of equal interest are the views of no less than four contemporary poster artists and designers all of whom are regarded as 'masters' in their field and who produced posters for the Underground Group at the time; Edward McKnight Kauffer, Austin Cooper, Charles Paine and Gregory Brown. The views of the latter, Gregory Brown, are most vehement of the group and I wonder how the discussions went between him and Frank Pick the next time he was called in to talk about poster commissions!

That aside it is interetsing to see the debate that was had at the time in terms of the desirabilty and practicality of such schemes and the fact that a hundred years on, other than the introduction of vinyl and digital screens, the debate is still much the same.

Taken on: May 14, 2023

Tags:

Mike Ashworth Collection

advert

advertising campaigns

wall paintings

frescos

decorative art

industrial art

posters

London Underground

Frank Pick

architecture

station architecture

Bond Street station

Bank station

Piccadilly Circus station

Mary Adshead

Pears Soap

1927

Ripolin Paint

Remington Typewriters

Edward McKnight Kauffer

Gregory Brown

Charles Paine

Austin Cooper

Charles Holden

The Wall The Advertiser & The Designer

Dec

Advertising Display magazine

August 1927

Odhams Press

tube stations

Stephen Bone « less

Sets appears in: • The wall, the advertiser and the designer : article on advertising on London Underground stations 1927 : Advertising Display magazine • Advertising Display magazine more » • London Transport • Some old advertising « less

Groups appears in: • Vintage Advertising • Lost London more » • That Old Timey Feeling • * L O N D O N - T R A N S P O R T * • London Underground Posters • Old London • PLANET EARTH BACK IN THE DAY « less

Camera: Brother MFC-J6930DW (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Brother MFC-J6930DW
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Apple Image Capture
Show full info

Stats: 3,534 views / 2 comments