Saas-Fee Vintage Travel Poster
The golden age of travel, from the turn of the twentieth century through to the 1950s, was a time when the first ski resorts competed to be recognised as the most glamorous and well-equipped resorts, with some of the finest designers and artists commissioned to create stylish posters urging holiday-makers to visit. That is not the case with this vintage Swiss Saas-Fee Travel poster.
We don’t know who created this one. It is with genuine surprise that a poster with artwork of this caliber and quality produced as recently as 1947, can have been created without the name of the artist being known to the world. However, it happens time and time again and it seems to be the case with this one. Just a look at the image on the poster is enough to see that the painting is the equal of other well-known and well-respected artists such as Otto Ernst, Erich Hermes and even Roger Broders.
Saas-Fee in the Valias Suisse in 1947
The superb, brighlty coloured, bold Saas-Fee poster portrays the tiny Swiss Alpine village as it appeared in 1947. The glacial village lies at the foot of Switzerland’s highest mountain, the Dom (4545 m above sea level).
The picturesque village is surrounded by not one or two but thirteen 4,000 meter high mountain peaks. However, the artist has concentrated his view on the stretch of the Pennine Alps that includes the three mile long Fee Glacier that lies east of the Mischabel mountain range, between the summit of Dom on the north and Allalinhorn on the south. With its impressive landscape and scenic views, it’s easy to see why the place is nicknamed the ‘Pearl of the Alps’.
Back in 1947, the poster was commissioned to urge holidaymakers to visit the beautiful Swiss holiday destination. Today, Saas-Fee has grown considerably since this poster was produced, but the village still maintains much of the traditional charm captured in this poster.
How much is the Saas-Fee vintage travel poster worth?
Like most travel posters, these Saas-Fee travel posters weren’t produced in huge quantities. They were intended to be put up in railway stations and waiting rooms for a short while, then removed and replaced. They weren’t intended to still be around today. This is why surviving copies of posters like this charming Saas-Fee survivor from the 1940s are rare and highly sought after. An original lithographic print of this particular poster by an unknown artist was sold in 2019 for a considerable price of £3,750. This goes to show we’re not the only people to consider the poster of equal quality to some of the most renowned poster artists of the era.
Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears, or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.
The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £15. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.
