Object Timeline

1923

  • Work on this object began.

1933

  • Work on this object ended.

1963

  • We acquired this object.

2013

2015

2020

2021

2024

  • You found it!

Poster, Well Done! 11 World Records, Villiers

This is a Poster. It was designed by E. McKnight Kauffer and produced by W.S. Crawford Ltd. and made for (as the client) The Villiers Engineering Company. It is dated ca. 1928 and we acquired it in 1963. Its medium is lithograph. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

In 1927, Kauffer joined the advertising agency W. S. Crawford as a part-time employee. He preferred to work entirely as a freelancer, but this position provided a steady income. Kauffer stood out among his peers at the agency. He worked at an architect’s easel and used expensive artist’s materials rather than poster paints. The agency, which also had an office in Berlin, exposed him to new design methods and styles, including airbrushing, photomontage, and the latest typefaces.

This object was donated by Marion Dorn Kauffer. It is credited Gift of Mrs. E. McKnight Kauffer.

Its dimensions are

76.2 × 50.7 cm (30 in. × 19 15/16 in.)

It is signed

Printed in script, in blue ink, bottom left margin: E. McK.Kauffer.

It is inscribed

Printed in blue ink, lower left: THE VILLIERS ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED, WOLVERHAMPTON.; lower right: DESIGNED & PRODUCED BY W.S. CRAWFORD LTD.

Cite this object as

Poster, Well Done! 11 World Records, Villiers; Designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer (American, active England, 1890–1954); Produced by W.S. Crawford Ltd.; Client: The Villiers Engineering Company; England; lithograph; 76.2 × 50.7 cm (30 in. × 19 15/16 in.); Gift of Mrs. E. McKnight Kauffer; 1963-39-75

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

For higher resolution or commercial use contact ArtResource.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18448765/ |title=Poster, Well Done! 11 World Records, Villiers |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>