The 1930s was the cinema’s age of innocence, a time when the emphasis was on escapism and entertainment. Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn were Bringing Up Baby, Busby Berkely’s precision-drilled chorus girls were Flying Down to Rio, Fred Astaire was donning his Top Hat, and John Wayne was climbing on the Stagecoach to stardom. As this stunning collection of poster art reveals, it was also the decade of the illustrator, with Al Hirschfeld, Hap Hadley, and Alberto Vargas setting new standards in graphic design. Color may have only just begun to appear on cinema screens, but on the hoardings outside, the hues were bold and dazzling as never before. Tony Nourmand is co-owner of the Reel Poster Gallery in London and a poster consultant to Christie’s; Graham Marsh is a designer and art director. Together, they have produced Horror Poster Art and Science Fiction Poster Art, and collections of 20th-century film posters by decade.
Tony Nourmand is co-founder of Reel Art Press and editor of all R|A|P publications.
Tony launched Reel Art Press in the spring of 2010, with inaugural publications, The Rat Pack and Bill Gold: PosterWorks, released in the autumn of that year to worldwide press acclaim. The company continues to go from strength to strength and 2011 has already seen the release of the celebrated Weddings and Movie Stars. Hollywood And The Ivy Look is the fourth book released by R|A|P.
Tony is also the author of a further sixteen books on entertainment-related imagery. They have sold over a million copies worldwide and are recognized as authoritative texts. Titles include James Bond Movie Posters, Audrey Hepburn: The Paramount Years, The Godfather in Pictures and Stars and Cars. He also co-authored Hitchcock Poster Art and co-edited a series of books with Graham Marsh on movie poster art by the decade and by genre.
Before launching Reel Art Press, Tony was renowned as a world expert on original vintage film posters. He co-owned The Reel Poster Gallery in London for twenty years and was also the Christie's London consultant for Vintage Film Posters.
